The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay
by Aphrodite-Venus-u.k
Summary: Marcus Flint and Katie Bell have had some rough spots, but have found ways to work through them. With the Dark War knocking on their door will they be able to stay in the shallow bay and not float out to sea? Or will the war bring them closer together? New alliances are formed and old friendships are broken. Picks up where The Heart of Everything left off!
1. Chapter 1: Love Bites

Chapter One: Love Bites

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**London**

Marcus Flint arrived at the Order headquarters to check in. Katie had taken the news of the Order well, in his opinion. He could hear people talking in the first floor study and followed their voices. In the study, he saw Remus, Sirius, Tonks, and Kingsley gathered in a circle around a small table that was placed in the centre of the room. They all stopped talking once he entered.

"Do not stop because of me," Marcus said as he sat down in a chair. He always hated walking into a room once people stopped talking. It made him think they were talking about him.

They all looked at him, making him feel even more awkward.  
"You are the last to know about this," Sirius said slowly.

"About what?" Marcus asked in a slow voice. He had a gut feeling that he was not going to like this surprise.

"Come in," Sirius called toward the door. "My brother had a daughter," he said to Marcus.

Marcus knew that Sirius's brother had been killed during that last dark war and that was about it. He really did not know why any of that mattered. He watched as a figure filled the doorway. She was familiar. Her long, dirty blond hair bounced off the her shoulders as she entered.

"Hello, again," she said with a smile.

Marcus glared up at her. He had hoped that once he had left Hogwarts he would never have to see her again. He guessed that he was not going to be that lucky.

She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "You grew up good," she said to Marcus.

Marcus looked away.

"You two know each other?" Sirius asked.

Marcus did not answer.

"You could say that we were pretty friendly at one time." Her eyes was dancing.

Marcus could not believe it. What was she doing here? She surely could not be who Sirius was talking about. He gaped at her.

Avril Lestrange stepped past him. "Shall we get to work?"

Sirius nodded. "We have a lot to do." He shot Marcus a questioning look. Marcus looked away quickly. He was not in the mood to explain his past with Avril.

Avril smiled at the Order members and winked at Marcus. She was clearly enjoying the current situation.

Marcus glared at Avril. Their breakup had not been the smoothest. It had taken place in the Slytherin common room during their sixth year in front of a hundred or so housemates. He winced at the memory. His cheek had hurt for days after that incident.

Kinsley pointed up on the tension between them. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Avril replied sweetly.

"No," Marcus said at the same time.

Avril walked over to her ex-boyfriend. "You always were such a party pooper," she whispered, touching the side of his face. Marcus was glad that his stubble was coming in and his face was not as smooth as it had been a few hours ago. She did not deserve to see him clean.

"And you always brought me down with you no matter what," Marcus hissed.

Avril shrugged. "Love bites."

"But so do I."

Avril gave his arm a squeeze. "Oh, I remember." She laughed and winked suggestively. She turned back to the Order. "I am ready whenever you are."

Sirius nodded. "Excellent." He turned to Marcus. "Are you?"

Marcus took a few minutes to reply. He was not too thrilled to be working with his ex-girlfriend, but he also did not want the Dark Side to get any stronger than it already was. The Dark Side and Avril both had something in common. They were both like vipers that got you by the back of the neck and never let go. Their poison raced through your body and never left. The grip was unbreakable. However, in some situations a viper was needed and this was one of those time. He sighed and nodded.

Remus stepped forward and laid the Runes that Marcus had translated on the table." Soon we will be united and together on the other side. Soon I will embrace you and we will bring them all down," he read aloud. "We have not figured out for what this means. All that we do know is that it is some kind of message, possibility from Lord Voldemort himself."

Kingsley replied in his smooth voice, "The main point being that we know that the Dark Lord is planning something. However, we do not know what his next move will be or where he will strike next. We are pretty much blind in the situation."

Marcus nodded. "So, where does this leave us?"

Kingsley sighed. "We need you two to blend in with their circle and -"

"Gather as much information as possible," Marcus finished.

Kingsley gave Marcus a threatening look. "I could kill you sometimes," he said in joking manner.

Marcus just smiled and cracked his knuckles. He needed something to keep himself occupied.

"And that was exactly what I was trying to say."

Avril looked uncertain and Marcus felt a piece of happiness. She deserved to feel afraid after all of the hate comments she had directed toward him. Why could she just not understand that they were through and he did not have any feelings for her whatsoever? She looked at Marcus. "Fine."

Tonks handed them both tracking devices that had been fashioned by goblins. "Keep these with you at all times. They will let us know if you are in trouble."

Marcus nodded and slipped his into his pocket.

Avril did the same. "Where do we start?"

Remus cleared his throat. "Marcus already has a contact person in Knockturn Alley. You are to go with him today and learn what he does. Then, at some point, you will be able to go out on your own."

Avril crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not happy about the arrangement. She did not say anything about it though. "When do we start?"

Remus turned his attention to Marcus now. "When can you go?"

Marcus pulled up his robe shelve to look at his watch. "I do not know what she is doing now."

Remus nodded.

He got to his feet. "I probably should warn her before she meets Avril." He started toward the door, ignoring the foul looks he was receiving from Avril.

**Knockturn Alley **

Natalia threw the paper down. People were making stupid mistakes again. They were spending their time attacking Harry Potter and Dumbledore, when they had other problems to deal with. The Dark Lord had returned and they were just to blind to see it. Lord Voldemort could be anywhere. He will make a mistake sometime and then they will have him.

She wished she had not given Marcus the Runes back. Since then, he had not been back. It had only been a couple of days, but still. She did not have anyone to talk to except for the people how came into her shop and they were not the best company.

She sighed. Sure, she had a thing for Marcus. However, he had eyes only for Katie Bell.

She looked down at the tattoo with her dead lover's name craved her arm. Sometimes she wished that it would just disappear. She did not like seeing his name anymore every day. She wanted to forget about what had happened. Love bites hard.

And it was all her fault.

It was too late for a second chance. She was not going to run away from it.

First order of business was that she had to find something to eat. She had not eaten all day.

She went downstairs and hunted for something to eat. She did not know where the house elves were and she did not feel like hunting for them. She would deal with them later. She found some eggs and turned on the stove. A few minutes later the smell of frying eggs filled the kitchen. She did not know much about cooking but she knew enough to get by.

She eat his eggs and glanced up at the clock. If Marcus was going to show up, then he would do so in the next few minutes.

She heard the door open and looked up. He had come and was probably wanting something.

He took one look at her. "Are you sick?"

"Why?" She looked at him. Just by looking at most members of the male gender, she got whatever she wanted.

Natalia was a very pretty girl. She had long black hair that almost reached her waist. Usually it had blue highlights in it but she had changed them to red. Her skin was just about as pale as Marcus's (both of them had albino blood in them). She had beautiful almond eyes. She was Asian so she looked exotic. She was one of those girls who made anything look good. She was twenty-one years old. She was tall for a girl: six feet. However, she probably did not weigh more than one hundred and ten pounds.

"You are cooking." Marcus was not drawn in by her charm.

Natalia laughed and noticed that he was looking everywhere but at her. She took advantage of it and checked him out.

Marcus stood at six foot four inches. He was muscular but on the slim side. He had black hair that had a little wave in it if he let it grow. He had soft, chocolate brown eyes. His hands were as tough as leather from years of playing Quidditch. He had a scar on his right arm from where he broke it in his seventh year. His body bore the marks of many Quidditch injuries. His teeth used to be uneven but he had gotten them fixed in the summer before his seventh year. Overall, he did not look that bad as far as looks went.

"So?" Natalia inquired.

"You never cook."He came over to the table and sat across from her. "Are you that bored?"

"No, I was hungry." She took a bite. "How is Quidditch going?"

Marcus shrugged. "It is alright."

She stood up. "At least you have not got hurt yet."

"I hope I do not but I probably will."

Natalia touched Marcus's face. "Do not say that."

He pulled away from her. If only getting hurt in Quidditch was the least of his worries. He was afraid right now. He did not know what was going to happen to him. If Natalia broke their promise, he would be dead. He did not trust her at all.

Natalia placed her plate into the sink. "Why are you here?"

Marcus looked at his long hands. "To warn you."

She spun around to look at him, thinking that something was wrong. "Why?"

"The Order brought another spy in," he said slowly.

"Oh."

"She will be coming here."

Natalia nodded.

Marcus stared Natalia in the eye. "She is my ex-girlfriend."

"And that sucks." She pointed toward the door. "If that is all you have to say, then be on your way." The boy looked like he could use some sleep, but she was not going to play the nice card.

Marcus stood up and nodded. "Will do." He took his leave.

**I am not happy with this first chapter. I do not know what to do to improve it. Suggestions would be helpful.**


	2. Chapter 2: Going Under

Chapter Two: Going Under

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie Bell pulled her wand out of her robe. The members of Dumbledore's Army were practicing disarming spells. Most of the group did not see any point to this, but Katie did. If you could not disarm your foe, then how could you possibly win the fight? Also, since it was such a basic spell, many opponents might not expect you to use it. No matter what the spell, she thought that the more spells you knew, the better chance you had of defeating the enemy.

She pointed her wand toward Leanne. "Expelliarmus!" she cried. Leanne's wand flew out of her hand and landed next to Katie. Even though Katie could catch a Quaffle, she was hopeless at catching anything else.

"Um, nice catch," Leanne said trying not to giggle. She had her right hand in front of her mouth as a way to conceal her smile.

Katie bend down to pick up the wand. She knew that she was awful at catching and did not want to be reminded of it. She tossed it back to Leanne, who caught it with ease. "Shut up," she said.

Leanne just smiled and pointed her wand at Katie. "Okay, my turn." She made a twirling movement with her wand. "Are you ready for my awesome skills?"

Katie tried not to laugh. Sometimes with Leanne, she just could not help it. "Ready when you are." She raised her wand.

Leanne raised right arm and cried, "Expelliarmus!"

Katie's wand twitched in her hand. It was trying to paw its' way out and go toward the command. She had felt magic explode from her wand before, but this was different. It was as if her wand wanted to get away from her for forever. She had heard about the pull before and had preformed this spell. Before she had never fought to hold on to her wand. This was different. It was strange to actually feel the pull. She watched as her wand soared out of the clasped hand and toward her best friend. It reached Leanne, who caught it with ease.

"I do not think this spell will be so simple in a real Wizard's Duel," Leanne commented as she walked over to Katie and handed her wand .

"Me neither," Katie said taking her wand. "I think that more than likely the other person will be trying to kill you."

Leanne nodded. "I wonder if Harry could teach us something that would get rid of the old hag," she mused.

Katie knew that "old hag" referred to Umbridge. She normally could at least tolerate her teachers; she could even tolerate Snape. The Potions Master seemed to have warmed up to Katie since she and Marcus began dating. However, Umbridge was a different story. She could find nothing kind to say about that woman.

That woman tormented the Hogwarts students on a daily basis. It was time for people to stand up and against her. Umbridge was like that person who held the innocent child under in a pool of water and did not let the child up until it was dead.

Katie heard Harry blow the whistle, singling the end of another Dumbledore's Army meeting. They had to end the meetings at a certain time or the club would be found out. Everyone went over to gather in the centre of the room.

"Okay, guys, great work tonight," Harry said to the crowd. "I will post the next meeting on your galleons as soon as I know when it is."

At the last meeting, Hermione had given each member a fake, enchanted galleon. Rather than verbally saying whenever meetings were, Harry would set the date on his galleon and everyone else's would heat up. Katie had to admit that it was brilliant. Umbridge could not question them about carrying a galleon around in their pockets.

The group began to dismiss. Every time Katie stepped out of the room of requirements, she feared that she would get caught by one of Umbridge's minions. She did not breath until they reached the Gryffindor common room. She hated to think what Umbridge would do to them if they got caught.

Tonight it had been very easy to slip into the common room. No one had been in the hallways, not even one of the ghosts. It was rather strange. However, she could think of a couple of times that there had been no one around. All of them had not been bad times either.

Katie slipped into the main area of the common room behind Angelina. Leanne was behind her. The non-Dumbledore's Army Gryffindors did not pay any mind to their house members as they slipped in. She liked the fact that Gryffindors tended not to get into each other's business.

Angelina suddenly turned to Katie. "So, did you ask him?"

Katie was confused. "Ask who what?"

"The troll," Angelina replied. She placed her hands on her hips. "Did you ask him about helping Ron?"

Last weekend, Marcus had come to Hogsmeade to see Katie. Angelina had found out that he was coming and asked Katie to ask Marcus to help with Ron. Marcus had ended up telling Katie that he was a member of a secret organization that fighting Lord Voldemort. The Quidditch question had slipped her mind.

"Um..." Katie said not sure how to start.

"You did not ask him." Angelina accused her.

Katie shrugged. "Well, we got snogging and-" It was the best lie that she could come up. Except it was not completely a lie.

Angelina held her hand up. "Stop, I do not need or want to hear about you kissing a freaking troll."

Katie knew that Angelina hated it whenever she talked about kissing Marcus. That was why she pulled that trick. If Angelina would just give Marcus a chance, she would see what a good kisser he was. Not that Katie wanted Angelina to make out with her boyfriend.

Katie shrugged. "Okay then."

Angelina leaned against a wall. "But you will ask him right?"

Katie sighed. She really wished that her friend would just drop the issue. There was a high chance that Marcus would not help them anyway. His own training hours had gone up and with the Order of the Phoenix and his classes, he simply just would not have the time anyway. She was not going to ask him to give up his few free hours that he had.

Angelina gave Katie a look. "What?"

Katie shrugged. "He has just got a lot on his plate right now. I do not really want to add something else to it for him."

Angelina smiled. "He is a professional Quidditch player. It would not be adding to his schedule, just extending his job."

"Why do not ask Oliver if that is the case?" Katie huffed.

Angelina crossed her arms over her chest. "Because I want to prove that I am better than him."

Katie rolled her eyes. Some people just took Quidditch to far. She moved away from her friend. "Whatever."

She stomped into her dorm leaving her friend in the dust. She liked Angelina, but sometimes that girl got on her nerves. Angelina took some things too far. Katie had always tried to talk some sense into her, but this time, she could not deal with it. Katie had to get away to breath. There was no way that she was going to breakthrough to Angelina.

She buried her face into her pillow and screamed. She was sick of being the one that her friends always came running too in a crisis. No one wanted to listen to her away and she did not understand why they still came to her for advice. She felt like their panic button. Once they were done ranting, it felt as if they did not want anything to do with her. It was getting old and she wanted to change the game.

Katie could not keep going under because of her friends. She had to break away and be herself. Maybe know it was finally time to do it.

She took her face out of her pillow and went over to the window. Today was her day. Today she was going to herself and nothing more.


	3. Chapter 3: Whispers

Chapter Three: Whispers

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

Marcus sat down on the corner of his bed. It had been two days since he last talked to Natalia. He still had not taken Avril to meet Natalia and was not sure when that event was going to occur. He really did not want to get the two young women together because both could potentially turn on him and the Order. He did not trust those two.

With a sigh, he pulled his boots off and threw them in the corner. It had been a long, hard Quidditch practice today. Holder's, the head coach, back had been hurting and he took his pain out on the team. Marcus's personal coach, Daniel Young, afterwards decided to work with him on a new move, that involved him dangling from his broom by one hand. Marcus did not even want to think about doing the move during a game.

He stripped off the rest of his uniform and laid back on his bed in just his boxer shorts. He loved Quidditch, but hated the hard workouts. Workouts normally made his muscles fell worked, but relaxed. This time, however, they felt tense and overworked. A cool down had failed to do any good.

He rested his hands behind his head and looked upwards. Since he had quit drinking heavy, he spent more time at home. It was just a few hours a day, but it still felt good just to have time to wind down and think. He felt more normal and more in control know.

He supposed that the experts would call this a growing up moment. He did not want to think of it as a growing up moment. That thought made him feel old.

Marcus closed his brown eyes for a moment. He could not sleep tonight. He had Order duties again. Sleep was a luxury now and tonight he was not going to have that luxury. A two minute nap would not do any harm. Someone had once told him that micro sleeps were good or it may have been that they were bad. Whatever, it was no matter.

It was just for a few minutes.

Marcus felt himself drift off. He knew that his sleep was deeper than it should have been for a nap, but he could not force himself to wake up. Love was supposed to be the best thing in the world, but at this moment he felt that sleep was the greatest.

What seemed like a few seconds later, Marcus felt someone poking his shoulder. Hoping that this was some kind of sick dream, he opened his eyes and found himself staring into a set of blue ones.

"You really should put some clothes on," Katie commented as she sat down next to him. "You never know who may show up.

Marcus sat up with a groan and a kink in his neck. He really needed to stop sleeping with his body twisted. "No one was supposed to be coming over."

Katie shrugged. "Well, you never know. You may also want to invest in an alarm system. It was so easy for me to get in here."

"Invest in a what?"

Katie sighed. "You purebloods just really do not have a clue, do you?"  
Marcus opened his mouth to object, then quickly closed it. He did not want to have this discussion now. "What are you doing here anyway?" He reached off the corner of his bed and grabbed a pair of somewhat clean shorts.

"Fred and George got me out," Katie said with ease. Marcus wondered briefly when she had gotten so at ease with breaking the rules. He was starting to think that Hogwarts was not a good influence on her.

"I thought you guys were under strict surveillance or something like that," he mused as he pulled the shorts on.

Katie watched him. "There is always loopholes."

Marcus nodded. He supposed that was very true indeed. "Are you not worried about getting caught?"

Katie gave his hand a squeeze. "See that is the thing, I am not worried." She let a small laugh escape from her mouth. "I do not know why, but I feel as if I am standing up for something."  
"Such as?"

"I do not know. I feel like I am not letting people boss me around by coming to see you." She forced his head to the side so that he was looking at her. "They try to tell me that I should not be with you and that you are a bad influence on me. They say that we are not supposed to be together."

Marcus nodded. He had heard it all before. By standards, they should not be together. However, they tended not to follow the rules and listen to people. Over the years, they both had gotten quite good at turning people out and not heeding to their whispers.

He was form a wealthy pureblood family. He was the result of his mum and dad's second marriages. His dad had been married to some crazy Polish woman for five years and they had a daughter, Alice. Alice was thirteen years older than he was and he had only met her twice. His mother had been married to his dad's brother for eleven years. Then, he was murdered by the Death Eaters. (His uncle, mum, and dad were Aurors.) His mum and uncle had six sons: Brain, Luke and Logan (twins), Shawn and Nathanial (twins) and Ryan. They were anywhere from eleven to three years older than Marcus. Well, Marcus's mum and dad overtime fell in love and got married two years later. A year later that Marcus was born. Then, four and a half years later Marcus's sister, Haley, was born. Most of the time none of them was around. His parents both worked seven days a week and were only off for holidays. His half-brothers moved out right after Hogwarts and only came home maybe twice a year. He and Haley were close.

Katie was from a middle-class half-blood family. Both of her parents attended Hogwarts. Her mum was a pureblood witch and her dad a Muggle. Her mum's family did not approve of the relationship. They had two children: Katie's older brother, Anthony and Katie. When she was five, her parents got a divorce. Shortly after the divorce, her mum remarried. She had one son, Seth. Three years after it, her dad remarried. He had two daughters: Sierra and Zoey. Katie lived with her stepmom, Jenna, and her dad. She did not get along with her stepdad, Mike.

Marcus kissed her lips. "We will just not let them stop us."

Katie leaned into the kiss. "I like the sound of that." She ran her hands along his bare chest.

Marcus enjoyed her rubbing him. She had a special touch that made him feel relaxed and childlike. Her hands were smooth. He did not understand how female Quidditch players were able to keep their hands so smooth. His were so rough and beaten. Maybe that was what they called the female touch.

Katie stopped rubbing.

"What?" Marcus asked as he sat up.

Katie looked at him. "You got quiet."

"Oh. Is that a problem?"

"Whenever you get quiet, you are usually scheming to do something evil."

Marcus raised an eye brow. "So I am an evil person?"

Katie smiled. "You said it, not me."  
Marcus felt his frown line come out. He did not think that his plans were evil. Okay, someone's feelings may get hurt now and then, but that was beside the point. "I am not evil."

Katie just smiled. "Speaking of evil, you never answered a question for me."

"And how is that evil?"

"You never told me why you hated Oliver Wood."

** Katie turned, her blond hair flowed out like the limbs of a tree. Oliver Wood was smiling at her. "Hey, Oliver."**

** Wood walked over to her. "How is it going?"**

** Katie looked at him. "Good, I have been with Marcus for a large part of the summer."**

** Wood winced. "Why are you with him, Katie? You could do so much better!"  
Katie sighed. She was sick of them hating on each other. "He is a good guy once you get to know him!"  
"And you think you know him!" Wood exclaimed. **

** "Yes, I do Oliver!" **

** "I've known him for twelve years, Katie, and the entire time he is been nothing, but a thickhead!"**

** Wood glared at her. "It's not you I can't stand, it is him."**

** Katie looked at him. "Why do you two hate each other so much away?"**

** Wood does not look her in the eye. "It is complicated."**

** "There is nothing complicated about it."**

** Wood started to walk away. "Everything is complicated about it."**

** Katie does not respond and stormed off. She knew that there was nothing complicated about hating someone. Nothing complicated about it at all...**

** She stormed back to the tent, unaware that Marcus was asleep. She pulled back the flap in anger and went into Marcus's bed. He was on his side with his back toward her. She was thinking that he was ignoring her or something, so she kicked him. **

** Marcus woke with a jerk and cursed. "I was asleep!" he exclaimed. He had not turned around yet. He did not know that his attacker was Katie. **

** "Well, get up!"**

** Marcus rolled over and looked at her. "Can I help you?"**

** Katie sat down on the side of the bed. "Yeah, why do you and Oliver hate each other?"  
Marcus looked taken aback. "What?"**

** "You heard me."**

** "What brought this on?"**

** Katie shrugged. "He and I had a little chat."  
"And?"**

** "Your name may have come up."**

** "And?"**

** Katie shrugged. "And I may have asked him, but he did not tell me a thing. He said I was complicated."**

** Marcus leaned back into his pillows. "Well, it is complicated."**

Marcus looked at Katie. "I supposed you really want to know."

Katie nodded and whispered. "Yes."

"I am actually surprised that no one at Hogwarts has whispered you the answer." He looked down at his hands. "We were on the same junior league before my family moved to Italy. At the end of the year, there was cuts in the budget and they had to combine teams. The league had three teams. There was tryouts and I made the team. Wood did not and has hated me ever since. I did not even get to play on the team anyway. Two days later, my dad found out that he was being transferred."

Katie nodded. "So, it was over Quidditch?"  
"Yeah."

"Nothing else."  
Marcus felt his heart miss a beat. He hoped that no one whispered to the entire truth. "Yes."


	4. Chapter 4: Minor Heaven

Chapter Four: Minor Heaven

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback**

Two hours later, Katie arrived back at Hogwarts. She had hated to leave Marcus, but knew that she had to return to school or face Umbridge. It was not a big secret that Katie was dating Marcus Flint and did not get to see him much, but it proved to be a breach in Umbridge's reign.

She slipped into the nearly empty common room. Angelina was reading by a low light. Katie swallowed hard. She had asked Marcus about the Quidditch thing and, as expected, he had told her no. He claimed that it was nothing against her or the rest of the team; he simply just did not have time for it. However, he had wished them good luck with evil sarcasm. The talk about the rejection was one that Katie did not really want to have tonight.

Angelina saw her friend enter and slammed her book shut. "Well, did you ask him?" Angelina was one of the few people that knew that Katie went to see Marcus.

Katie sat across from her long time friend and looked at her hands.

Angelina snapped her fingers in front of Katie's face. "Well?"  
Katie snapped her head up. "Yeah, I asked him."  
"And?" Angelina was pressing. She tended to do that a lot whenever she was under pressure or nervous.

"He said no," Katie said slowly.

She watched her friend's face fall. Katie knew how much Angelina had been relying on Marcus's help. Maybe if he had a Time Turner or something like that, then he would be able to help. The time of year did not help matters either. The Falmouth Falcons had a gurgling training schedule.

"Oh," Angelina said slowly.

"He told me that he just does not have the time right now." Katie paused. "If if makes you feel any better, he is not helping Slytherin."

Angelina threw Katie a forced smile. "That is good to know." She buried her face into her hands. "I do not know what we are going to do now."

Katie reached over and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "How about having fun with the game," she suggested. "It is your last year and why not enjoy it."  
Angelina took her hands out of her face and looked at her friend. "Because having fun does not make a winning team."

Katie sighed. Why did everything have to be about winning? "But the teams who do not make it look like work are the champions of every Cup."

Angelina cracked a real smile. "That is very true. That is why Wood always had such a tough time figuring out Slytherin's moves. He played to impress; Slytherin played to kill people."

Katie laughed. The Slytherin and Gryffindor game had always been the most brutal game. "I guess." She bit the inside of her mouth. This conversation was getting boring. She wanted to talk with Angelina about other things beside Quidditch.

Angelina had also fallen silent and was pretending to be highly interested by the word work on the table.

Katie decided that it was now or never. "Angelina, what happened to us?"

Angelina's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"Every time we talk it is always about Quidditch. Why can't we talk like we used to?" Katie was not looking at the ground as she normally would, but was looking at her friend straight in the face.

"Because we agreed to listen to what the other had to say whenever something was wrong," Angelina replied slowly.

Katie sighed. She remembered the pact that she and Angelina had made when they were young girls. They vowed to be there whenever they needed each other and vowed not to bring up other issues during that time. She knew that it was kind of stupid and kiddish, but it still stood in their friendship. Of course, she thought that Angelina's problems were not all that major. She was not going to be the one to say that though.

"I know, but I think we need to have an intervention," Katie said.

Angelina got a confused look on her face. "An intervention?" she asked slowly.

Katie nodded. "I think that we just need to talk."

Angelina nodded. "Like now?"  
"Oh-I do not know." Katie was not sure of what to say. She had not expected Angelina to jump on the idea so quickly.

"There is no time better than the present," Angelina pushed.

"I know."

"Then what is the problem?"  
"There is no problem."  
Angelina crossed her arms over her chest. "There is so."

Katie glared at her friend. "There is no problem."  
Angelina put her hands in surrender. "Okay, there is no problem." She paused. "So, let us talk then."

Katie nodded. She knew that since she brought it up, that she would have to be the first one to talk. She was not sure how to start this. Besides the Quidditch thing, there was one other thing brothering her. She decided that the other thing would be harder to deal with than the Quidditch. "Can we please not talk about Quidditch every time we get together?"

Angelina nodded. "Done." She raised an eyebrow. "Anything else?"  
Katie bit her lip. She was not sure how to address this. One scene of it came to mind.

** Katie sat in the Great Hall next to Angelina and Alicia. A few seats down from them, Fred and George were whispering quietly. This was very strange. Normally, the twins never shut up. This was very puzzling indeed. She never really did understand how their minds worked.**

** Not that she wanted to either...**

** "So, are you still with him?" Angelina inquired. She did not like the fact that Katie was dating Marcus, even though they had been together for almost two years.**

** Katie watched the new first years walk in. Her blue eyes followed the long line. Just five years ago today, she had been one of them. "Why would not I be?"**

** Angelina shrugged. "I would had thought that one of those groupies would have ate him up."**

** "Why?"**

** "He is a professional Quidditch player, Katie. Think about it."**

**Katie did not respond right away.**

** Alicia stepped in. "You do not know that, Angelina. He has not cheated in two years."**

** "But he cheated on Avril Lestrange," Angelina objected.**

** "And do you blame him?" Alicia exclaimed.**

** Angelina had a thoughtful look on her face. "Now that I think about it, I do not blame him."**

** Katie watched as the Sorting Hat was place onto a first year's head. "Finally, you are coming to your senses."**

** Angelina tapped Katie's arm. "No, I never said that I like him."**

** Katie watched as another first year was sorted. "Would you be complaining about him this much if he was Oliver?"**

** That stopped Angelina in her tracks. "Um...I would say something."**

** "Something is better than nothing," Alicia added.**

** Katie gave her a dirty look. "Why would you say something?"**

** "Because he is too old for you, Katie!" Angelina exclaimed. "You are fifteen."**

** "Almost sixteen," Katie objected.**

** Angelina rolled her eyes. "Flint is what nineteen."**

** "He just turned eighteen."**

** That made Angelina stop. "Oh. When did that happen?"**

** "Mid-July."**

** Angelina turned her attention to the sorting. Katie could not help but to smirk. She knew that she had hit a nerve with Angelina. She did not understand what the big deal was. After all, why did it matter to them who she dated? Whatever, they did not know Marcus nor would they ever. They only saw him as a jerk and as a rotten Slytherin. She did not see that side of him. All she saw was his gentle and good ways. She was not going to let them cause the end of her and Marcus. Nope, they was just going to have to live with the fact that she was dating Marcus Flint, centre Chaser for the Falmouth Falcons and former Slytherin Quidditch captain, with emphasises on the former part.**

Angelina waved her hand in front of Katie's face. "Hello? Earth to Katie!"  
Katie snapped out of her daze. "Huh?"

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Katie took a deep breath. "I want you guys to quit making fun of Marcus and quit telling me not to date him." It all came out really fast and she was not sure it Angelina understood it.

Angelina nodded slowly. "Does he treat you okay?"

Katie wondered where this was going to go. "Yes."

"He does not pressure you?"

"No."

"Do you care about him?"

"Yes."

"Does he care about you?"

"Yes."

Angelina bent over the table toward Katie. "Is he hygiene good?"

"Is his what good?" Katie asked. She wanted to make sure that she had heard right. She thought that Angelina was asking about his hygiene.

Angelina gave her a knowing look. "You know what I said."

"I suppose. He leaves his wet towels on the floor next to the hamper." Katie smiled.

"I suppose that is a plus." Angelina pause. "Fine, I will not insult him in public places nor will I not encourage you two to stop dating." She looked up at Katie. "Is that good?"

Katie sighed. She supposed that this was the best that she was going to get. "I suppose."

Angelina hugged Katie. "Good because this is going to be torture."

Katie smiled again. Smiling seemed to be something that she could not stop doing. This talk with Angelina had not been a serious as she thought it would had been. It was a minor heaven.

"Your boyfriend does have good taste in gloves though." Angelina pulled a pair of Chaser's gloves out of her bag. They were identical to the ones that Marcus wore. "These are the best ones that I have ever worn."

"How did you know what he wore?" Katie slowly inquired.

"It is all over the Quidditch magazines. Do not you read about him?" Angelina shook her head. "If my boyfriend was an international Quidditch player, I would be stalking him like crazy."

Katie could see that happening. She pitied whoever Angelina dated.


	5. Chapter 5: A Dangerous Mind

Chapter Five: A Dangerous Mind

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**I am sorry if my Italian is incorrect. I had to rely on an internet translator because I do not speak Italian. **

Marcus entered his parents' estate in Devon. The manor had always been in the Flint family, but Marcus's family had only lived there for about nine years. Much of Marcus's childhood had been spent aboard, first in Ireland then in Italy. The living aboard still was reflected in much of the Flint's lives. The family rarely spoke English at home.

He went up the first flight of stairs. His father was probably in his second floor study. The house was naturally dark. He had to keep his eyes on the steps to prevent himself from falling down or up them. He mentally cursed his family for having to have such Gothic tastes. What made light so evil?  
Marcus reached his father's study and knocked lightly on the door. Brad Flint often held meetings in his study and Marcus knew from past experience that it was not a good idea to enter the room without knocking.

"Come in," Brad called from the other side of the door.

Marcus slowly pushed the door open and entered. His father was seated behind the oak desk in the centre of the room. Behind him and on one side were shelves of books that covered more subjects than Marcus cared to learn about. The north side was covered by giant windows; today the windows had large drapes covering them.

Brad looked up from the letter he was working on. "Marcus," he said. " Appena un momento, figlio."

Marcus sat down on the leather sofa across from his desk. His dad bent back down over his parchment. He dipped his quill into the ink a few more times. Within a few minutes, Brad had completed the letter. He sealed it and sat it on the corner of his desk.

" L'Aurors di francese ha avuto bisogno di un aggiornamento su ciò che succede in Britian. Aspettarsi, sono sicuro che devono sapere. Ho deciso di tenerlo vago. Non possiamo permetterci mettersi nei guai ora," Brad said as he stood up.

Marcus nodded. He had already been lectured many times on what to and what not to put in writing. Everyone in the Order enjoyed lecturing him on the issue. Since he was the youngest in the Order, he often got treated like a child. "So."

Brad looked at his son. " Questa non è alcuna questione che scherza. Scrittura potrebbe rovinarci."

Marcus did not add that he was not joking. He decided that he had best not push it.

Brad got up from behind the desk and came over to his son. " Perché lei è qui? Che non bado a, è appena è stato un momento poiché lei è venuto intorno."

Marcus did not know that he needed a reason to visit his parents. Sure, he had not been to see them for a while. He just had not had time until now. Today was his day off from practice and his university classes had ended early. His dad drove him crazy sometimes and his mum worried to death about him, but he did miss them. They had not been around much during his childhood and, now, that he was part of Order, he wanted to be with them. They were still his parents and was still their son. Nothing would ever change that. It was not about to tell them any of that though.

" Non ho avuto niente meglio per fare dopopranzo." He needed to make it sound as if he was bored and, truthfully, he was.

Brad just gave Marcus a knowing smile. They both thought a lot alike. It made their minds extremely dangerous. When he was a child, the thinking alike had made it very difficult for Marcus to get away with anything. He almost always got caught.

"Qualunque cosa lei dice," was all that Brad said.

Marcus looked down at his hands. "So, have you are heard anymore about the connection?" he asked, switching to English with ease. Harry Potter appeared to have some sort of dangerous connection with Lord Voldemort's mind. Sirius had been the one to share this information at the last Order meeting. It may sound useful, but most of the Order saw it as dangerous. Including Marcus...

Brad shook his head. "No more than last time." He looked toward the back of the study. "Harry is probably keeping it secret. He just mentioned in it passing."

"Why isn't he saying more?"

Brad shrugged.

"Why aren't they pressuring him to say more? Why are they not trying to break it?" Marcus did not understand this. Had it been him with the connection, they would had probably been trying to break it by any means necessary. His mum's father would had gone crazy. He was the former Minister of Magic and used to be the head of the Aurors. He had been Minister of Magic during the First Dark War. He had since retired. Retirement had not stopped his hatred for the Dark Arts.

Brad looked back at his son. "I do not know. Yes, I think that something should be done about it, but I do not know if it any of ours' place to say anything." He paused. "Had it been you, Haley, or any of your brothers, I would do anything and everything in my power to break it." He had just proved Marcus's theory.

Marcus rubbed his chin. He could feel stubble from two days without shaving. "Why doesn't anyone try harder to break it?" he inquired.

Brad rubbed his face in his hands. "I do not know. Harry has no one to stand up for him?"

"What about Sirius?"

Brad shrugged. "Sirius seems to be lost in some kind of illusion. He seems to think that Harry is James." He paused. "Harry is not James. He is far from it. They may look alike, but they really do not act alike."

"Has anyone told him what James was really like?" Marcus knew that Harry had come to believe that James had been somewhat of a saint. Marcus knew otherwise.

"No and it is not either of our places to say anything," Brad snapped. "So, keep your mouth shut about it."  
Marcus looked up at his father in surrender. "Okay, then. He will be in the for the shook of his life whenever he finds out."

Brad sighed. "I know that, but-"

"It is not our place to say," Marcus finished.

"See, I have it drilled into your head."

Brad smiled.

Marcus looked back down at his hands. He had been wanting to ask this next question for quite awhile, but could find no one who he felt comfortable asking. It was probably a stupid question. It was one that he already knew the answer too, but he kind of needed to hear it spoken aloud. "It is going to get a lot worse, huh?"

Brad looked his son in the eye. His face had a forlorn look on it. He looked as if he did not want to be the one to speak it out loud either. "Yes, I am afraid that it is."

"People are going to die," Marcus said slowly.

"Yes, a lot of good, innocent, and unknowing people are going to die." Brad stared straight ahead. "It is the sad and simple truth. Death will not be the only thing we had to be concerned with. Betrayals are going to happen and some of them are going to be quite painful."

"Night," grunted Ron, from somewhere to his right. 

"Night," said Harry. 

Maybe next time...if there was a next time...she'd be a bit happier. He ought to have asked her out; she had probably been excepting it and was now really angry with him...or was she lying in bed, still crying about Cedric? He did not know what to think. Hermione's explanation had made it all more complicated rather than easier to understand. 

That's what they should teach us here, he thought, turning over onto his side, how girls' brains worked...it'd be more useful than Divination anyway...

Neville snuffled in his sleep. An owl hooted somewhere out in the night. 

Harry dreamed he was back in the D.A. room. Cho was accusing him of luring her there under false pretences; she said that he had promised her a hundred and fifty Chocolate Frogs cards if she showed up. Harry protested...Cho shouted, "Cedric gave me loads of Chocolate Frogs, look!" And she pulled out fistfuls of cards from inside her robes and threw them into the air, and then turned into Hermione, who said, "You did promise her, you know, Harry...I think you'd better give her something else instead...How about your Firebolt?" And Harry was protesting that he could not give Cho his Firebolt because Umbridge had it, and anyway the whole thing was ridiculous, he'd only come to the D.A. room to put up some Christmas baubles shaped like Dobby's head...

The dream changed...

His body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. He was gilding between shinning metal bars, across dark, cold stone...He was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly...It was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colours...He was turning his head...At first glance, the corridor was empty...but no...a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark...

Harry put his tongue out...He tasted the man's scent on the air...He was alive but drowsing...sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor... 

Harry longer to bite the man...but he must master the impulse...He had more important work to do...

But the man was stirring...a silvery cloak feel from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering about him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt...He had no choice...He reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man's flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood...

The man was yelling in pain...then he fell silent...He slumped backward against the wall...Blood was splattering onto the floor...

His forehead hurt terribly...It was aching fit to burst...

"Harry! HARRY!"  
He opened his eyes. Every inch of his body was covered in icy sweat; his bedcovers were twisted all around him like a straitjacket; he felt as through a white-hot poker was being applied to his forehead.

"Harry!"

Ron was standing over him looking extremely frightened. There were more figures at the foot of Harry's bed. He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was blinding him...He rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress. 

"He's really ill," said a scared voice. "Should we call someone?"

"Harry! Harry!"  
He had to Ron, it was very important that he tell him...Taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half-blinding him.

"Your dad," he panted, his chest heaving. "Your dad's..been attacked..."

"What?" said Ron uncomprehendingly. 

"Your dad!" He's been bitten, it's serious, there was blood everywhere..." ( Citation: J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, page 461-463.)

**Devon **

The door to Brad's study banged open. Jasmine Flint, Remus, and Kingsley all rushed in.  
"We have a problem!" Kingsley said as he scrambled to catch his breath. "Arthur has been attacked while out duty!"

Brad and Marcus stood. They followed the rest of them out of the estate and to London, not sure of what had happened.


	6. Chapter 6: My Mind's Eye

Chapter Six: My Mind's Eye

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie found it rather odd that Hermione was sitting in the Great Hall without Harry and Ron. Those three seemed to be stuck together like glue and now Hermione was alone. Ron had not been at the last Quidditch practice before holiday break either. Angelina had been outraged, but McGonagall had hushed the girl. Katie had not seen Angelina swear like that since Fred, George, and Harry got a lifetime ban from Umbridge. All the team and the rest of the school knew was that Harry and Ron were excused from the rest of the term. It had gotten people talking, of course. Katie had heard stories ranging from a troll attack to them both being expelled. She did not buy the troll story, but would not put it past them to get themselves expelled.

Hermione looked up from her book as Katie sat down next to her and smiled.

Katie returned the smile, but did not speak until her plate was piled high with food. "So, where is the other two?"

"Something came up at Ron's and the Weasleys had to go home early. Harry went for moral support." Hermione took at drink. "I, however, was not about to miss the rest of the term."

Katie nodded and ate a spoonful of corn. It sounded like a reasonable answer, but Katie did not buy it. Since finding out that Marcus was involved in a secret Anti-Dark Arts group, it had made her notice things easier. She had a theory that it had something to do with that nature. She liked being more aware; it made her feel as if she was not in the dark anymore. It made her feel safe.

"I need to get ready for O. and things of that nature," Hermione continued. "Plus, if all three of us went, it might had risen some unnecessary attention." Her head did not move, but Katie followed her eyes up to the staff table where Umbridge was watching for rule breakers.

Katie nodded. Umbridge had been cracking down on the students. She seemed to be everywhere. Plus, the Inquisitorial Squad followed everyone around and seemed to be gaining more members daily. Katie had a good idea as to who they were, but she was not certain of all of them. A rule of thumb was not to trust anyone who is following you.

"I hope that everything is okay," Katie replied, her voice was filled with concern.

Hermione nodded slowly. She had a faraway look on her face. She looked as if she wanted to be anyway, but at Hogwarts. Katie longed to tell her that she knew about the Order and that Hermione could tell her everything. Katie was assuming that Hermione knew about the Order.

Hermione took a deep breath in. "How are things between you and Flint?"

Katie tried not groan. She did not think that Hermione would attack Marcus, but she was not sure. "Um, good. He has been busy, so I do not get to talk to him a lot." She left out that she had visited him in Cornwall a few weeks ago.

"That is probably not good for the relationship." Hermione took a bite.

Katie pushed her noodles around on her plate. "No, but I know that he is doing what he needs to be doing." She gave the other girl a pointed look.

Hermione nodded understanding. "That is good. I hope he keeps it up."

Katie nodded. "Me too. The only problem is that whenever I get to see him, he is always about ready to fall asleep or just waking up. I knew that girl talk bored him, but not that much."

Hermione laughed. "Well, I would not take it too personal."

Katie took a long drink of pumpkin juice. "I don't."

Hermione stood and threw her bag over her shoulder. "It was nice talking to you, but I have to run to Charms. Flitwick is going over important things for O. ."

Katie nodded and smiled. "Have fun in Charms." Personally, she did not care for Charms. It just was not her kind of subject.

"Oh, I will," Hermione said in an excited tone.

Katie watched the younger girl disappear. She still did not understand how someone could be so excited about going to class. Katie did not mind lessons, but she was not going to run off to them half-an-hour early. She was the type to arrive five minutes early.

Haley slid in next to Katie. She looked out of place at the Gryffindor table. "What are you doing for the holidays?" She popped a noodle into her mouth.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Well, I am glad you see you."

Haley smiled and swallowed. "See, I knew that you would be."

Sometimes Katie felt sorry for the girl. Haley had grown up with seven older brothers. She rarely had the chance to be in the company of other females outside of Hogwarts. Growing in a family of boys showed on Haley. The girl was very pretty, but did nothing to dress up her features. She had long, wavy hair, a clear complexion, and a body that supermodels would kill for. Haley chose to hid behind athletic wear. Okay, Katie did the same thing, but Haley did not know how beautiful she really was.

"So, you never answered my question," Haley pressed.

"I am going home," Katie replied. "Why?"

Haley smiled. "Just wondering."

Katie knew that something was up. "Why do you want to know?"

Haley stood up. "That is for me to know and you to find out." She stood up and walked away, leaving Katie very confused.  
It only took a few seconds for Katie to get to her feet and rush after Haley. She found Haley outside in the Entrance Hall talking to her boyfriend, Blaise Zanbini. Katie really did not Zanbini and was sort of afraid to approach Haley with him around. Marcus had said that he liked Zanbini last year at the Yule Ball, so maybe there was hope.

"What are you talking about?" Katie demanded once she reached Haley.

Haley smiled an evil smile that was similar to Marcus's. He always gave her that smile when he had just done or was about to do something very wrong and dangerous. Katie hated that smile. For her, it meant that she was going to suffer somehow.

"Haley, tell me!" Katie was starting to lose her patience.

Zanbini was looking back and forth between the girls. A frown line had formed on his forehead.

Haley's smiled widened. "That is for me to know and you to find out."

"I have the right to know."

"And I have the right to keep it a hush, hush sort of deal," Haley fired back. She took a hair band off her right wrist and used it to pull her hair back into a low ponytail. She crossed her arms over her chest as she attempted and failed to look threatening. She was trying hard not to laugh. Katie found the entire look funny, even if she was not impressed with the secret.

Zanbini looked just as confused as ever.

Katie's blue eyes narrowed. "On what right?"  
Haley grinned. "On every right that I have."

"If it involves me having to adjust my schedule, then I have the right to know," Katie fired back.

Zanbini sunk down to the floor. He reached into his bag and pulled out a thick book, he opened it mid way through the book, and began to read. It was as if he knew that this was going to be awhile. This made Katie even more unsure about him. She knew that it was the quite ones that you had to look out for.

Haley shrugged. "You will just have to change them a little." She looked down at her watch. "Now, I have to go. I do not want to be late for Snape's."

Zanbini rose and started toward the dungeons.

Haley looked around looked to make sure that no one was within an earshot. "I do not know what all Marcus has told you," Haley whispered. "Something bad has happened, but I can't say it here. My mind's eye is all I can say and that it pertains to the Boy Who Lived and You-Know-Who." She looked around again. "And that Avril is back." Without another word, she walked away.

Katie gapped at her. Something had happened that involved Harry, Lord Voldemort, and a mind seeing something. That was all just about as clear as mud. The only thing that did make sense was that Avril was back. Katie only knew of one Avril and that one Avril was her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. She did not understand why Marcus had failed to mention her.

All that Katie knew was that someone was going to have some explaining to do.


	7. Chapter 7: Betray My Heart

Chapter Seven: Betray My Heart

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling. The Pythia quote does not belong to me either.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

**Note: All measurements are in the metric system and all** **temperatures**** are in degree C.**

Marcus leaned against the side of Flourish and Blotts that lead to Knockturn Alley. He kept looking at his watch every thirty seconds. Avril was late. He banged his head against the brick wall wondering why he had subjected himself to this torture.

The people of Knockturn Alley paid no mind to the nineteen year old. He had dressed in a manner that allowed him to blend in. He was wearing solid black. The long shelve dark green shirt that he wore under his robes was the only colour he wore. His features and other natural looks gave him the appearance of looking "evil." He had not shaved either this morning and that added to the effect. The dark circles under his eyes, however, were not doing him any favours.

The last few days had been pretty chaotic. Arthur Weasley had been seriously injured by the Dark Lord's snake, Nagini. The Order of the Phoenix had been rushing to come up with a plausible explanation to tell the rest of the world. They were down another member and that was leaving the others with more work. Harry Potter had been having visions about Lord Voldemort and had witnessed the attack from the snake's point of view. That was causing more problems. If Potter could see things from the Dark Side, did that mean that the Dark Side would be able to control him? Was they all in danger? These questions and many more were racing through the mind's of Order members. They were all thinking the same thing: Potter could be dangerous to them all. However, no one wanted to say anything aloud.

Marcus's chocolate eyes darted down the street again. There was still no sign of his ex-girlfriend. That was perfectly fine with him. It only made him mad because he had to stand out in the zero degree December temperatures and wait on her. He did not know how long he should wait. He just wanted to talk to Natalia and be on his merry way. Quidditch season had ended for winter hiatus and he could just relax and not think about training. Of course, relaxing did not involve waiting on Avril.

He looked back down at his watch and cursed loud enough to get be on the reached end of raised eyebrows. He just wished that the woman would hurry up. She was probably being late on purpose too just to tick him off and it was working.

Avril swayed up to him fifteen minutes later with a proud smile on her face. "So, are you ready to start?"

Marcus gave her a look. "You are late."

Avril rested her hand on his bicep. "Relax there, dude."

Marcus jerked his arm away from her. He did not like being called dude by anyone and especially by Avril.

"Problem there?" Avril inquired as she batted her eyes at him. "You used to always let me touch you."

"Things change," Marcus said coldly.

Avril smiled. "Yes, they do."

"And don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, but I like to keep my options open."

Marcus pushed himself off the wall and started down to Knockturn Alley. "Keep your options away from me!"

Avril followed him. "And this is why our relationship fell apart!"  
Marcus did not turn around to look at her. He wanted so badly to fire something back at her, but knew better. His mouth got him in trouble quite frequently. He wished that she would just let go of what happened between them. However, he knew that his break up with Avril had been different. She had been the first girl to ever seriously betray his heart. She had gotten him in a lot of trouble when they dated and had pushed him into things that he did not want to do. She had been the one that followed him everywhere and wanted to be with him every second of the day. When he had finally said no, she dumped him in front of the entire Slytherin House. Shortly after that, he got together with Katie.

**Avril pulled Marcus in after her. She knew that he was not happy about being here. As far she was concerned, he would get over it. It was just one night, just one party. She did not understand what his problem was. He just needed to get over whatever it was and have some fun. **

** She left him for a moment to get them drinks. She figured that once he had a little something in his system that he would lighten up. He always did anyway and she did not see why this time would be any different. She got the strongest that the party had to offer. **

** Avril went back to Marcus and handed him his drink. "Cheers," she said as she took a big drink. It burned her throat. **

** Marcus held his up to his lips and drank as well. "What is this stuff?" he asked. She could tell he was trying hard not to cough. **

** Avril shrugged. She had no idea what they were drinking. **

** Damon Knightly, a fellow Slytherin in their year, came up beside them. He was drinking the same thing they were. "What is this?" **

** Avril shrugged again, smiling evilly. **

**Marcus took another shot. He was getting more and more drunk as the evening went on. That was his goal: to get drunk and forgot whatever stupid thing he did tonight. Beside him, Damon ordered another shot.**

** "So, do you think you'll remember what questions I ask you tonight?" Damon inquired.**

** Marcus looked at Damon. "Not chance." He took another drink. "Do you think you'll remember we had this conversation?"**

** Damon took a deep breath and sighed. "No way in hell."**

** Marcus stood up and smiled at the other boy. "That's what I thought."**

** Avril smiled up at Marcus. "Hello, there," she whispered. She batted her eyes at him. She was very drunk. **

** Marcus pretended not to notice. **

** She ran her hand up his arm and gave his bicep a squeeze. "You're strong."**

** He pulled his arm away from her. He was drunk, but not drunk enough to have to have her groping him in public. He had to be gone before that happened.**

** She stood on her tiptoes, so she was somewhat level to him. "I am in love with you."**

** Marcus could tell that she was very drunk. She had probably had more to drink than he had tonight. He did not offer the love back. **

** "Marcus?" she asked as she slid her hand up his shirt. He could feel her running her hands over his stomach. "Um, I like what I feel."**

** Marcus snapped out of his daze. "Okay, to far there." He stepped back.**

** Avril pouted. "Are you sure, baby?"**

** He did not respond. He was more than sure.**

** Avril got right in his face and batted her eyes. "Come on, now. I'm a lot of fun."**

** Marcus walked away from her. He did not have time for this nor did he want to mess with her. He did not like it when drunken girls or drunken people came on to him. It was annoying. He made his way across the dance floor. Damon caught his eye; he was dancing with a pretty redhead.**

** Damon caught his eye. **

** "Help," Marcus mouthed. **

** Damon nodded and turned his attention back to his dancing partner. He said a few words to her. Marcus watched her pout as she disappeared. **

** Damon came over to Marcus. "Yes?"**

** Marcus pointed at the drunk Avril and was going to say something. He was interrupted by sirens and cold, metal steel covering his wrist as he hands were pinned behind him. **

** The next few days pasted in a blur to Marcus. His parents had him on lockdown for the rest of the summer. His dad had threatened him hard enough that he was afraid to do anything that may get him in trouble. He was also in trouble with the Muggle police. He had sixty hours of community service, he was on probation for sixty days, and had to go to counseling for a month. His summer was gone and so was his summer competitions. **

** Marcus sat in his window seat and watched the sun set. Once this was over, he had some things to take care of. He had some baggage to get rid of and he knew exactly what to start with. There was a curse between them and he was not going to let fate make them suffer anymore. **

** He stared up at the ceiling and thought to himself, "What have you done?"**

Marcus lead the way to Natalia's shop. He was regretting agreeing to this job. He did not mind being a spy for the Order, but he hated it when Avril was in the picture. He knew that she enjoyed making his life a living hell. Natalia did too and he knew that he was in deep trouble. The more women that came into his life, the more it sucked. They enjoyed torturing him.

Once outside of Natalia's shop, Marcus turned to make sure that Avril was keeping up with him. He would had been so disappointed if she had not. It would had made his life go some much more smoother today. She was right on his heels. He just could not be that lucky.

He pushed the shop door open and let it slam in Avril's face. The girl came in behind him with a frown on her face.

"Will you just grow up!" she snapped.

"Will you just let go of what happened!" Marcus fired back.

Natalia descended down the steps and leaned against the staircase. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was wearing a smirk of pride. She was clearly enjoying the scene. When the couple saw her, they fell silent. Natalia moved closer to them. "Oh, do not stop on account of me," she said as she walked. "I was finding the scene very enjoyable."

Marcus frowned. This was going to be a long meeting.

Avril smiled at Natalia. "I like this girl," she muttered to Marcus as she approached Natalia. "I am Avril Lestrange."

Natalia smiled. "Natalia Woods. I have heard so much about you." She paused. "It appears that you and I have a similar favourite hobby."

Avril's smiled widened. "What is that?"  
"Making Marcus's life a living hell," Natalia replied.

Avril laughed. "Oh, I do quite enjoy that game."

"One little kiss for all your secrets," Natalia muttered under her breath. "Eye of tiger, tale of sadness." She looked up at Avril and Marcus and smiled an evil smile. "You hunger for my blood too much. I beg for you to leave me, but you will not cut the cord that bounds up. You still weave your magic further. Betray my heart with love not fire."

Avril frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Natalia looked at her. "You tell me?" She nodded toward Marcus. "I think that he understands just fine."

Marcus frowned. He knew that she was talking about their kiss and his relationships. It was probably just a something to disturb him.

Natalia waltzed up to him. "So, I take you haven't told Katie?"

Marcus gave her a look and stormed out of the shop.

"Well, someone has got a temper," Natalia muttered to his retreating back.


	8. Chapter 8: Broken Pieces

Chapter Eight: Broken Pieces

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling. The Pythia quote does not belong to me either.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Shortest chapter so far. I wanted to get a small view on Katie's family, since we already know a little about Marcus's. **

Katie exited the Hogwarts Express. She could not believe that it was Christmas holiday already. She scanned the crowd looking for her father and Jenna. She spotted her youngest sister's, Zoey, red hair. Zoey was a first year at Hogwarts and was in Gryffindor. She walked in the direction of the red hair. Sierra was standing beside Zoey with holding a thick book in one hand. Sierra had Katie's fair looks. She was a fourth year and was in Ravenclaw.

Jenna smiled once Katie reached them. "Did you have a good term?" she asked her stepdaughter.

Katie nodded. She was not sure what to say. She could not exactly tell her family about Dumbledore's Army or the Order of the Phoenix. "Yeah."

Sierra looked over top of her book. "Is Gryffindor's Quidditch team getting any better?"

Katie frowned. Gryffindor played Ravenclaw in January. She did not know why Sierra was asking this question. As far as Katie knew, Sierra had no interest in Quidditch. "Why?"

Sierra shrugged. "I was just wondering."

Katie shot her step sister an evil look.

Jim, Katie's father, cleared his throat. He hated whenever his daughters fought. "Can we not talk about Quidditch? How about we focus on- I don't know, being somewhat civil toward each other?" He smiled at his daughters. "Twis the season."

Katie smiled. Her dad was kind of corny, but she knew that he had a big heart. She knew that a lot of Hogwarts students did not have the luxury of being in a close family. Many of them could not tell you where their parents were the biggest part of the time.

Sierra slammed her book shut. "Well, I am ready to go home."

Zoey nodded. She was looked back and forth between Sierra and Katie with her green eyes full.

Jim bent down to pick up a trunk. "Well, let us be on our way." He began to make a path through the crowd.

Katie followed her father. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Haley with Brad and Jasmine. Haley caught Katie's eye and smiled a knowing smile. Katie had never known Haley to be so creepy. Times must be changing.

Zoey ran into Katie's back. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

Katie looked at her youngest step sister. "Nothing."

"Then, can we get a move on it." For an eleven year old, Zoey was awful demanding.

Katie followed her family out into King's Cross. Muggles were rushing to last minute broadenings. Many were carrying brightly wrapped packages. A few were even dressed up as Father Christmas. She loved watching people prepare for the Christmas holiday. It was one of her favourite things to do.

Jim directed his family to their car. Although he was educated at Hogwarts, Jim was a Muggle born and still liked to hold on to some of his Muggle ways. A lot of Muggle products were making their way into the wizard world. Wizards were finding out that doing things the Muggle way was not always so bad. Plus, they really seemed to like the concept of television. However, most Muggle products were only offered to the upper class of wizard society. These products were still very expensive.

Jim placed the trunks in the back and his family climbed into the car. Sierra had her book open again. Katie thought that if Sierra kept this up for much longer that she would be as bad as Hermione Granger.

Katie looked out the back seat window. Snow was starting fall gently. She knew that it would probably pick up and soon the ground would be covered in a white blanket. She loved white Christmas's. It completed the holiday.

Zoey tapped Katie's shoulder. "I wish that it could snow without it being cold." The small red head shivered. "I am not a fan of the cold."

Katie nodded. She did not mind the cold. "You need to tell Marcus that if you want someone to agree with you." Marcus did not like the cold. It was mostly because the cold make his old injuries flare up.

"I will do that next time I see him," Zoey said as she hugged her sweater closer to herself. "When will I see him again, exactly?"

Katie did not know how to answer that question. She supposed that she would see Marcus over the holidays, but was not sure. They had never discussed seeing each other. Haley had hinted that Marcus did have something planned for the holiday.

"Katie?" Zoey pressed.

Katie took in a deep breath. "I am not sure exactly. Marcus has been rather busy and we really have not talked for a few weeks."

Jenna looked over her shoulder. "Maybe you should call the boy. You should not revolve around his schedule. His schedule should revolve around you."

Sierra looked over her book. "Has that ever worked for you?"

Jenna smiled. "That is how I got your father."  
Sierra nodded. "I suppose having Marcus in the family would not be so bad."

"Oh, why is that?" Jenna asked.

"He is rich and will get richer."  
Jenna looked at Jim. Jim did not see her look. "Money is not as important as love. Whenever things get broken, money cannot always fix the broken pieces." She looked at Katie. "Tell me, Marcus comes from a wealthy family and I wonder if he could tell you who he is related to and how."

Katie thought about it. She knew for a fact that he could not; that was partly because he avoided must family gatherings or got drunk and did not remember them. "No, he can't."

"That was what I thought." Jenna turned back around.

Katie wondered what Jenna's point was. Marcus could name his relatives who he was closely related to and tell someone how he was related to that person. There was some branches of his family tree that he family did not talk about.

"Mum, can you name everyone that you are related to?" Zoey inquired.

Jenna turned back around. "Is this twenty questions or something?"

Zoey shrugged. "I just thought that I would ask."

"I can name those that are the closet to me."

"So, are you saying that Marcus is a bad person because he can't?"

"No." Jenna paused. "I was bringing it up because I feel sorry for him."

"Why?"

"He needs family. His family needs to hold onto him or they could lose him. They probably need each other. It is sort of like a human needing to learn to love water and learn to respect it. In a way, a human respects water by learning to flow with it. Without learning to flow with it, the water will drown you."

"Sink or swim?" Zoey inquired.

"Yeah, something like that."

**So, the next chapter will be a Christmas one even though it's not Christmas yet. It will be divided into both Marcus and Katie's point of view. Chapter ten will pick up with Marcus's point of view. **


	9. Chapter 9: Not This Year

Chapter Nine: Not This Year

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: flashback **

Marcus swallowed the rest of his coffee. It's contents burned his throat and made him want to gag. In the main room, he could hear the shoots and giggles as his nieces and nephews helped his mum put up the Christmas tree. He was rather surprised that he had not gotten roped into helping them. He did not mind decorating for Christmas; he just hated the idea of taking it all down afterwards.

Haley entered from the other room. She had just finished up the first part of her fourth year at Hogwarts. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at her brother. "You look like you are about to die."

Marcus looked down at his younger sister. "Why do you say that?"

"You just do." She nodded toward the other room. "Your presence has been requested."

Marcus sat his mug down at the foot of the stairs. "I wondered how long that would take."

Haley smiled. "Just wait until you hear what Mum has planned for you. It involves the lights on the balconies, you, Dad, and the rest of our lovely brothers."

Marcus frowned. They had put the lights up onside yesterday afternoon. He did not see why they had to do them again. "Why?"

"Did you check to see if the lights were working?"

Marcus thought about it. Ryan and Shawn, two of his half brothers, were put on that duty. They were both Healers and Brad, his father, had thought that they could manage that job. Marcus was not even sure if the older men did try the lights. "I do not know."

"Well, they are not and Mum wants them fixed."

"Can't I have a different job?" It was cold outside and Marcus did not like the cold. He was not in the mood to be sore today.

Haley got a thoughtful look on her face. Marcus knew that was not really thinking about what he had just asked her. "Nope, not this year, big brother. All the other jobs have been taken."

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. "And what is your job exactly?"

"Telling you what yours is." She clapped her hands. "Now, chop, chop. You are wasting valuable time by standing here and chatting."

Marcus gave his sister a look as he pulled his coat out of the hall closet. Sometimes he wished that his parents had stopped having children after he was born.

Bryan, the eldest of the family, was standing out on the porch with his hands in his pockets and his breath forming fog in the cold air. Bryan had the reminder of a burn on his right cheek. Bryan was a dragon trainer in Italy. "Did you get conned into this too?"

Marcus nodded. "Yeah."

Bryan took his hands out of his pockets. "I did not know that there was going to be so much work for a bunch of damn Christmas lights."

Marcus nodded. "Why do we need them anyway?" There was no close neighbours to the Flint estate and, therefore, was no need to decorate the outside of the house to impress someone.

"You know Mum." Bryan shrugged. "She is all about Christmas tradition."

"Le donne amano fare appena le nostre vite difficili."

Bryan snored. "Here, here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask. He took a long drink from it. "That is part of the reason why I never got married." He offered the flask to Marcus.

Marcus shook his head.

Bryan gave him a look. "Since when do you turn down a drink?"

Marcus shrugged. "Things change."

"Apparently."

Brad came out of the barn with a ladder thrown over his shoulder. He returned the other two. "Is this all that is coming?"

Bryan and Marcus shrugged.

"I guess you two will have to do." He propped the ladder against the house. Then, turned to look at his sons sizing them up. "Bryan and I will hold the ladder. Marcus, you are the lightest and so you get the honour of climbing up."

Marcus looked up at the ladder. He really did not want to climb it. Even though he was a Quidditch player, he was not a big fan of heights. He had never really told anyone that and those who did know looked at him oddly.

"Marcus, up the ladder. The sooner you get up there, the quicker we can be on our merry way," Brad commanded.

Marcus gripped the sides of the ladder and climbed up it. Within a few seconds he was face to face with the Christmas lights. They glared at him with their unlighted blubs. They must had thought that they was going to win this battle, but Marcus Flint was here to inform them otherwise. He pulled out his wand and tapped the nearest string of lights. They came on instantly. Sometimes Marcus loved being a wizard; it made life much more simpler.

"Did you get them?" Brad asked his son.

Marcus turned to look down at the ground. "Yeah. I think I did."

Brad nodded.

Marcus climbed down from the ladder.

"There that will keep your mum happy," Brad stated once Marcus had returned to the ground. Brad pulled the ladder away from the house.

Brad nodded. "Now we can experience peace on earth and all of that good stuff."

The three of them started to walk away from the house. A crash sounded from behind them and all three turned to see all of the Christmas lights fall off of the house.

Jasmine, Marcus's and Bryan's mum, stepped out of the house at that very moment. She placed her hands on her hips. "I think you guys have some more work to do."

"Not this year," Marcus muttered to Bryan.

"I am starting to see that now."

**Last Christmas **

** After the champions came in and lead the first dance, Katie turned to Marcus. "Would you like to dance?"**

** Marcus looked at her. "I thought I was supposed to ask you." **

** Katie pulled him out onto the dance floor. "I'm not one for traditions." She put her arms around his waist. "Besides, if I waited on you, the dance would be over." Her blue eyes were shining. **

** They danced in and out of the other couples. Everyone and everything shone in the candlelight. The snow falling from the season was the perfect Christmas snow. Katie found herself looking up at it every few minutes. As a result, she stepped on Marcus's feet many times. Each time she did so, Marcus winced, but did not say a word. **

** Katie buried her face into his shoulder. **

** "Yes?" Marcus inquired.**

** Katie removed her face. "Can we go outside?"**

** Marcus led her off the dance floor. "I'd thought you'd never ask."**

** "Why don't you like dancing?"**

** "It's almost as a fun as having to drink that stupid healing Potion."**

** Katie laughed. **

** Marcus shrugged. "It's the truth." **

** They walked outside through the rose garden that was not there yesterday. At least, Katie thought that it was not there yesterday. She breathed in the deep scent of the roses. After about five minutes of walking, Katie stopped next to a bench and sat down. She patted the seat next to her and Marcus sat down. **

** She stared up at the night sky. "Everything's getting bad, isn't it?"**

** Marcus looked at her. "What are you talking about?"**

** "There's a storm coming."  
Marcus looked down at the ground. **

** Katie sighed. "I know you know Marcus."**

** Marcus looked up at her. "Do we have to discuss this on Christmas?"  
"I guess not," Katie mumbled. **

** Marcus kissed the top of her head. "Good."**

** Katie turned her head up at meet his lips and gently kissed him. "Merry Christmas," Katie said.**

** "Merry Christmas," Marcus whispered.**

** Behind them, the bell tower chimed in a wonderful carol of the bells. **

Katie Bell placed the final angel on the Christmas tree. She stood back to admire her work. Decorating the tree was on her favourite things to do for Christmas. Since she only got to do it once, she had to make it matter. Sierra and Zoey stood next to her looking up at the tree.

"What do you think?" Katie asked the two younger girls.

Zoey smiled. "I like it. I think Sierra's homemade snowman looks the best in front."

Sierra shot her sister a look. She was not known for her artistic abilities. Katie did have to admit that it was pretty funny. Sierra mastered everything else, but arts and crafts. There was one thing that Katie did not understand: how in the world could a snowman turn into something that looked like a tree? Snowmen were supposed to be round, not sharp and pointy. "It is not my fault," Sierra pouted.

Katie smiled. "We all have our strengths."

Sierra smiled. "Yeah and I clearly got to brains in this." She stomped out of the room.

Katie sighed. She did not know if Sierra was kidding or not. Sierra seemed upset about something. Katie knew that if she went to talk to her sister that they would get nowhere. Sierra did not open his emotions up to anyone. Katie wished that she would. This Christmas the lights did not shine brightly for Sierra and it was rain coming down, not snow. Katie wished that there was something she could do for Sierra, but did not know what.

"Someone is in a mood," Zoey commented. "She usually is okay with teasing."

Katie nodded and stared where her sister had been moments ago. "Yeah, I know."

"Was it just because of the snowman?" Zoey's eyes were full. She really wanted to get along with Sierra. "I can take it down if it was."

Katie took a deep breath. "I do not think it was. I think she has got something else on her mind and you know how she is at opening up."

Zoey nodded. "Maybe she has changed," she said in a hopeful voice.

"I do not think it will happen this year," Katie sighed. She turned back to the tree. One of her favourite things to do had just been broken. Outside the snow had turned to rain.

Katie was not sure what to do. She knew that rightfully she should go up and talk to Sierra. Even if Sierra did not want to talk, she had to know that someone cared about her.

Zoey sighed. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I think that I am going to go up and attempt to talk to her." Katie made her way upstairs.

Sierra's room was at the furthest end of the hall. Katie was glad that this house had enough rooms so that they did not have to share. The rooms were not very big, but it gave the girls some privacy. She nodded lightly on the door and waited. No response came and she pushed the door open slowly.

Sierra was sitting on the centre of her bed with tears rolling down her face. She was hugging a pillow. "He is dead and you never got to met him."

Katie sat down next to her sister. She was not sure what Sierra was talking about, but at least she was talking. "Who is dead?"

Sierra wiped her eyes. "Zach."

"Who is Zach?"

Sierra looked shyly at her bed. "My boyfriend," she whispered in a small voice. "He is a Muggle from town."

Katie looked at her sister. She was not aware of any boyfriend. She wondered why Sierra had never mentioned him, but now was not the time to ask. "When did you find out?"  
Fresh tears fell from the other girl's eyes. "This morning. It happened a few days ago."

Katie bit her lip. She did not know what to say. This Christmas was not going to a happy one for those who knew Zach. "How did it happen?"

"He was hit by driving who was texting."

Katie frowned.

Sierra knew that she was not supposed to whine and cry this year, but she could not hold it in. She could not take it. Her heart just was not in the spirit this year. She could not fake it and act like everything was okay. She had tried to do that and it had not ended well. "Zoey probably hates me," Sierra mumbled.

"She is just worried about you," Katie replied. She pulled her sister close. "I could ask Marcus to go on trail ride with us. It will have to be after the holidays though. He is supposed to be with it family and he got out of it last year. So, he is not getting out of it this year."

Sierra really did not know what Katie was talking about, but she did enjoy trial rides. It would help relieve the stress. "Okay." She paused. "I would like that."


	10. Chapter 10: We Are Never Ever Getting

Chapter Ten: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus groaned as he alarm clock went off. He could not believe that he was getting up at seven am on a Saturday of his break. Katie had asked him if he wanted to go on a trail ride before she went back to Hogwarts. He had agreed, but did not get the chance to go with her until now. He had been at his parents' place until the New Year. Before he went with her, he had to go to Natalia's for something. She had said that she had something for him. He did not know if he wanted to know what it was.

He sat on the edge of his back and run his hands along his cheeks. He really wanted to climb back into bed, but knew that was not an option.

He picked his mobile off his nightstand and began to stroll through his messages. There was several from Natalia that he had ignored last night and there was several more from Avril, which he was not sure about how she had gotten his new number. He saw that there was none from Katie and deleted the ones from Avril. He really needed to tell Katie that Avril was hanging around again. He knew that Katie knew that he and Avril were never ever getting back together.

He got dressed and went to face his destiny. Anymore whenever he went to Knockturn Alley, it made him feel as if he was walking to a death march. Natalia and Avril had become mates and seemed to be plotting against him. He did not understand what he had done to deserve this. In order to understand that, he would have to get into the mind of a female. That was something that no member of his gender had ever done. If a member of the male gender ever did figure it out, he wanted to met the bloke and get a lesson in it.

Marcus arrived outside of Natalia's shop. He ignored the closed sign and walked in. Natalia was sitting at a small table with her hands crossed on it. Avril sat next to her.

"You are late," Natalia said looking up at the clock.

Marcus shrugged. "Not my fault."

Avril smiled. "It never is with you." She turned to Natalia. "All the time I was with him, everything was my fault. It was my fault that he got arrested at a party with me. He is the one who went. It is my fault that we broke up."

Marcus wanted to add that she had drugged him at the party and that she had cheated on him. Her drugging him at the party was a large part of why he did not do drugs. It made him feel bound to her and he really was not in the mood to be a drug addict. Plus, drugs were really gross. "Get over it," he snapped. "We are never, ever getting back together."

Avril frowned.

Natalia smiled and slide him a piece of paper. "I think you will find this useful."

Marcus nodded and placed it into his pocket. He did not want to look at it or discuss it with Avril around. The less she knew, the better off they were.

Avril got up and went over to Marcus. "You see, baby, you do not see the entire picture." She began to make small circles on his chest. "I have you wrapped around my finger and there is nothing you can do about it."

Marcus stepped away from her. "What part of we are never, ever getting back together don't you understand?" He stormed out of the shop. He was not sure why he let her get to him.

Twenty minutes later, Marcus arrived back at his house. Katie was due anytime. He changed into an old pair of jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt. He was looking forward to some along time with Katie. There was some things that he needed to talk to her about her private. He did not want her finding out that Avril was around was someone else. He need that he probably should had told her sooner.

He rested his boots on the living room coffee table and picked up the remote. He began flipping through the channels. He loved modern technology. Ten minutes later, Katie stepped into the room. He looked up at her as she walked toward him. They pulled each other into a full embrace and kissed.

Marcus broke the kiss after several minutes. "I need to talk to you."

Katie sat back on her heels. "I need to talk to you as well." She laid back against him. "You can go first."

Marcus touched her blond hair. "Um, do you remember Avril?"  
"I do."

"Well, she is kind of hanging out with the Order and will not leave me alone."

Katie's expression did not even change. "Uh-huh."  
"I just thought you would like to know."

Katie sat up slowly.

Marcus waited for the slap, but did not come. He looked at her. "I meant to tell you earlier, but the timing just was not right."

Katie pulled his face close to her. "Next time, you may want to tell me before your sister does."

Marcus kissed her."I am going to murder Haley in her sleep."

Katie returned the kiss. "That may be a little too harsh," she muttered.

Marcus deepened the kiss. "You think?"

"You know what I think? I think you two need to stop snogging so we can go ride horses," a voice commanded from behind them.

Marcus jumped and looked up to see Katie's little sisters watching them.

"You remember that thing I needed to talk to you about?" Katie asked.

Marcus nodded.

"That is it," she whispered into his ear.

Marcus was kind of embarrassed. He did not mind kissing Katie with other people around, but this was her sisters. It was extremely wried. "Um, right." He stood up. "Let's go do that."

Zoey grinned at them. "Or you two could just continue with what you were going. Do not let us stop you. We could just stand here and watch you."  
"How about no?" Katie asked.

"That works too," Zoey said with a shrug.

Marcus looked at Sierra. He was expecting some kind of response from her. The girl kept staring at the floor with downcast eyes. He knew that he had better not make any comment toward her. Females tended to be moody.

He lead the way outside to the barn. The barn was located on the east side of the house down over a small embankment. He could hear the girls coming behind him.

As they slide down the embankment, Katie came up behind him and slide her hand through his. "I should had told you that they were coming."  
Marcus smiled. "It is no big deal."

Katie looked over her shoulder. "Sierra's boyfriend was killed and she needed some cheering."  
Marcus felt frown lines forming on his forehead.

Katie looked up at him. "Yeah, I know."

Marcus pulled the barn door open and stepped back to let the girls file in. Once they was all inside, he went into the tack room and gathered up the necessary tack.

His black mare, Witch, stuck her head out of her stable and nibbled gently at him as he pasted. He was not about to let any of the girls ride her for safety reasons. He looked back at the girls as they picked out a horse and petted Witch's side. He had been riding Witch for three years now. After devolving cancer, his other show horse had to be put down. He had been upset for weeks once it happened. He and his dad had found Witch, a Dutch Warmblood, at a boarding stable in the Netherlands. She had been dubbed high stung and difficult to ride, but had always been gentle with Marcus. She was one of the best show horses he had ever ridden. Her gentleness with other people was a different story.

Katie came out of a stable leading Lassie. Lassie was a three year old Rocky Mountain Horse mare that he had purchased from the United States this past summer. Katie and Lassie had bounded immediately. Zoey was leading Dasher, an Italian Trotter gelding; Dasher was pushing fifteen years old with a gentle nature. Sierra was leading Maestà, a five year old Appaloosa mare and was very shy.

Marcus threw his tack on Witch. "Are you ready?" he asked as he swung himself up on the mare.  
All of the girls nodded as they mounted.

Katie rode along side Marcus as they left the barn. Snow was starting to fall gently and would soon add another layer to the ground. Marcus looked over to her. She was worth holding on. She treated him well and it just felt right to be with her. Avril had always treated him poorly and did not really respect him. He knew that she talked to other people about their relationship in great detail. He could not help to but to pity the poor bloke who was dating now.

He was happy that he had been the one to end it with Avril. She was nothing but trouble.

Katie smiled. "What?"

Marcus shrugged. "Nothing."

"There is too."  
Marcus looked ahead. "I do not know what you are talking about."

Katie laughed. "I think you do."

"There is nothing."

"Fine." She paused. "Then, can you answer this question for me?"

"What?"

"It comes back you and Avril. When you two was dating, people talked about you guys a lot, but I never once saw people really talk to you two. Why is that?"

Marcus frowned. He did not know why Katie was bringing this up. "Huh?"

"People talk to us as a couple, but they did not with you and Avril," Katie replied.

"Maybe because they saw that Avril and I were a disaster just waiting to happen." It was the best that Marcus could come up with.

"Maybe. I think that relationship was one of those where talked to their friends who talked to their friends and did not really talk to the couple." She looked at him. "Do you know what I am saying?"

Marcus stared ahead. He had no idea what Katie was talking about. He did not remember most of the days he spent with Avril because he had been drunk or hungerover on most of those days. His brain was not wired to understand relationship problems even if he did remember them.

"Um..." That was a good starting point. He knew that he was going to have to do what any male would do. He nodded. When in doubt it was best to agree.

Katie looked over at him. "You have no idea what I am talking about, do you?"  
Marcus tried hard not to laugh. "Is it that obvious?"

Katie nodded. "Yes, yes it is."


	11. Chapter 11: When You Hurt Me The Most

Chapter Eleven: When You Hurt Me the Most

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**I did change this up from what happened in the books. **

**May **

Katie stood with her friends outside of the Room of Requirement. The year was coming to a close. She hoped that Dumbledore's Army continued. More importantly she hoped that Umbridge would not be returning next year. She really did not want to have to suffer her final year at Hogwarts with Umbridge. She knew that Dumbledore's Army would end if the school hired a decent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. With a good teacher, there would not be any real need for Harry teaching it.

Either way, it was sort of a win-win situation.

Katie, Alicia, Angelina, and Leanne focused on their desire to learn how to defend themselves and to be with others who wished to learn the same. A door appeared within a few minutes and the girls stepped in. A number of students were already present. Harry and Cho Chang were on opposite sides of the room attempting and failing at not acknowledging each other. Everyone else was talking in small groups. There was tension in the air. A few months ago, there had been a mass breakout from Azkaban and it had become everyone's personal mission to learn to defend themselves.

The girls found their fellow housemates, Fred, George, and Lee, standing away from everyone. They were whispering about something, but stopped the whispers one the girls reached them.

"Do not stop on our account," Angelina told them.

"I was just moved by your beauty," Fred said. He put his arms around Angelina. They had finally become an official couple last week. Katie thought that it was about time too.

Angelina smacked him playfully. "You wish." She pulled away from him. "What were you really talking about?"  
Fred exchanged looks with Lee and George. "Can't a man have a private life?"

Angelina looked as if she was thinking about the question, but Katie knew that she really was not. "Um, no."

Fred shook his head. "That hurts, baby."

"Pain should be sweeter coming from my hand," Angelina said.

Fred rolled his eyes.

Harry blew a whistle before Angelina could get another comment out. Katie knew that it was not the end of it. Angelina would get an answer of Fred rather he wanted to tell her or not. If he was anything like Marcus, he would crack if pressured.

"Okay, guys, I think we need to do a quick review of the last meeting," Harry said," then we will move on to something new." He clapped his heads together and disappeared into the crowd.

Katie turned to Leanne. "Are you ready for my awesomeness?"

Leanne snorted. "You had best be ready for mine." She pulled her wand out of her robes and pointed it playfully at Katie.

Katie pulled her wand out. "So, this is how it is going to be?" she asked as she pointed it at Leanne.

Leanne nodded and smiled. She took a step back and Stunned Katie.

Katie stood frozen for a few minutes. Once she was unfrozen, she threw a jinx in Leanne's direction. Leanne dodged it and threw another one it Katie's direction. Katie ducked and the hex hit a Ravenclaw standing before her. The Ravenclaw's hair turned bright orange. He gave the girls a look of annoyance as he changed his hair back to its' original colour.

Katie and Leanne exchanged looks. They were both trying and failing at not laughing.

The whistle blew again and both girls turned their attention to Harry. "Okay, that was great work. I think that tonight we will work on spells that are bound to be on the O. and N.E. ." In the corner, Hermione was nodding with approval. This exercise had probably been her idea in the first place. Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Hermione. " Flipendo!

Hermione raised her wand and pointed it at Harry. "Finite Incantatum!" she cried right before Harry's spell reached her. The spell did no damage to her.

The members of Dumbledore's Army clapped and cheered.

Harry smiled and pocketed his wand. "The Flipendo Jinx is designed to knock any object backwards. As Hermione has demonstrated for us, the Finite Incantatum spell will stop any spell that is coming toward you. It will give you enough time to come back with a counterattack or give you a chance to run away." He paused. "Fighting the Dark Arts is not an easy job and sometimes you are best off if you run and hide." Harry jumped down off the platform he was standing on and crossed his arms over his chest. "Running does not make you a coward. It means that you are smart and will live to fight another day. Running is not always easy. You have to decide for yourself when it the right time to retreat and when is not." With that, he clapped his hands. "Alright, let's work on those two spells."

Once again, Katie and Leanne turned to face each other. They raised their wands. Katie started to begin the Flipendo Jinx. She about had the words out of her mouth, when a house elf ran in between she and Leanne.

The house elf approached Harry and said something to him. The students close enough to hear got a panicked look on their faces, but did not move. "WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? RUN! UMBRIDGE IS COMING!"

Katie took off running with Leanne on her heals. This was not good, this was not good at all. They raced out of the Room of Requirement and were lucky enough not to see Umbridge. They could hear her footsteps and the footsteps of the Inquisitorial Squad.

"You hop along and see if you can round up anymore of them, Draco," she said. "Tell the others to look in the library-anybody out of breath-check the bathrooms, Miss Parkinson can do the girls' one-off you go..." (Rowling, 609)

Katie and Leanne pushed back against the wall. Malfoy was coming their way. Katie thought for sure that they were going to be caught.

Katie felt a tap on her shoulder as someone cleared their throat. She felt her heart miss a beat. It was over. They were going to be expelled and be forced to live life as an exile. They had taken Harry's advice and ran, now it was over.

She turned to met her maker.

Haley smiled. "You do not have to look so sick to see me."  
Katie felt relief rush out of her. "Umbridge is coming."

Haley nodded slowly. "They will not think anything of it, if you are with me." She was in Slytherin House.

Katie nodded. She was not sure if Haley knew what was going on. She did know for sure that Haley was not a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

"...she added in her softest, most dangerous voice, as Malfoy walked away. "You come with me to the headmaster's office, Potter." (Rowling, 609) 

Malfoy rounded the corner and the girls stepped out of the shadows. "What are you doing here?" he said, addressing Haley not Katie and Leanne.

Haley crossed her arms over her chest. "I do not think that it is any of your concern."  
Malfoy sneered at her, "I think it is." He pointed to the badge on his chest.

Haley looked at the badge and then back up at Malfoy. "Was that supposed to be a hard strike? Are you trying to push me to the ground?" She stepped closer to him. "It is not working, in case you were wondering."

Malfoy took a small step back. Katie was not sure if he was aware that he had done so.

"You are not hurting me." Haley paused. "I was not aware that it was a crime to go the library." She pointed to her shoulder bag.

Malfoy looked at it. "What about these two, then?" He gestured to Katie and Leanne.

"We were coming from the Owl tower," Katie said. "I was sending a letter to Marcus and Leanne came with me."

Malfoy nodded. Katie was not sure if he bought the story.

Umbridge rounded the corner with Harry in tow. "Draco, I thought I told you to check the bathrooms."

"I was on my way, Professor, until I found these three." Malfoy nodded toward the girls.

"You are supposed to looking for Potter's friends, not a Slytherin and two girls," Umbridge snapped.

Haley was smiling. She appeared to enjoy watching Malfoy get into trouble.

"Miss. Flint, Miss. Bell, and Miss. Robinson be on your way," Umbridge barked as she marched past them.

Malfoy gave the girls a glare as he pasted them. All three held it.

Umbridge continued marching down the hall, not aware of the fact that Malfoy was not moving.

"You had better listen to her," Haley sneered. "You have how she is."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed at Haley. "Why do you care?"  
Haley shrugged. "I don't care." She began to circle him. It was like a cat playing with its' food before moving in the kill. The predator had its' prey cornered. "You have learned your role well. You claim to not let people push you to the ground, but, yet, they do."  
"I do not."

"Then, why do you seen to hide behind the people who come to power?" Haley re-crossed her arms over her chest.

"I do no such thing," Malfoy stammered.

Haley smiled evilly. "Sure, you don't."

"DRACO!" Umbridge bellowed from down the hall.

"You have best be on your way. Mother calls."

Malfoy gave her one final dirty look and left.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Katie exclaimed once Malfoy and Umbridge were gone.

Haley shrugged. "I try."


	12. Chapter 12: Hunger

Chapter Twelve: Hunger

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus pulled on his grey and white robes. In an hour, the Falmouth Falcons would be marching onto the home pitch of the Kenmare Krestals. He had always found playing against this team to be rather awkward. Two of his former teammates played for this Irish team. Jared Comer, who played right Chaser, had been the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team before Marcus. His twin brother, Jasper, had played Keeper. Plus, the Krestals had offered Marcus a place on the team numerous times.

He had just finished pulling on his boats, when the captain of the Flacons, Trent Hastings, stepped out of a small office. Head coach David Holder was behind him.

Hastings clapped his hands together. "Everyone up on their feet. Move it!" There was a certain hunger in his eyes.  
The team slowly got their feet. They were used to Hastings's demanding nature.

The line-up for the Falcons consisted of a number of nationalities. Trent Hastings, twenty-seven, was a large Beater from southern Germany. Kevin Blair, twenty-one, was a medium built Beater from eastern Finland. Jamie Taubenfeld, twenty, was a medium built left Chaser from western Canada; he was also dating the Seeker. Carter Collins, twenty-four, was a small right Chaser from South Africa. Shane Chang, twenty-six, was the Keeper from South Korea. Raine Daniels, nineteen, was the only female on the team and was Seeker from eastern Russia. She and Marcus had been signed together.

Hastings went over to the chalkboard on the wall and began to map out a complicated game plan. "This is one of the better teams we have face this year." He gestured toward the board and began to explain it.

When Hastings started to explain things, Marcus usually tuned him out. The plans discussed in the locker rooms did not work out on the playing field. He knew that plans were discussed in order to give the team and, most importantly, the captain a sense of control and security.

Holder stood up from the stool he had been sitting on. "I expect a win out of this one." He looked pointedly at the team. "I believe that it is our destiny to defeat the Krestals. You just have to want it. No, wanting it is not bad enough. You have to hunger for it. " He gestured to the doors. "Be on your way now."

Marcus followed Carter and Jamie out of the locker room. Once they reached the exit of the tunnel, they were greeted by a loud cheer. Since, Falmouth was not that far of a distance from Kenmare, they had a lot of fans. The cheers sent chills through Marcus's body. He loved being supported for what he did.

The referee stood in the centre of the field with a crate of balls at his feet. His broom laid to the right of him.

The Krestals were already there.

"I want this game to nice and I do not want any accidents." The referee looked pointly at the teams. Marcus was not sure of the referee's name, but knew that he was terrified of blood. Marcus had always wondered why the referee was even involved in with Quidditch.

The referee cleared his throat. "Captains, shake hands!"  
Hastings and Jared Comer approached each other and gripped each others hands.

"Mount your brooms."

Marcus mounted his broom and waited for the whistle. Once the whistle sounded, he kicked off and waited for the balls to be released. The Bludgers were released first, then the Snitch. Marcus leaned forward to get ready for the release of the Quaffle.

Once it was released, he darted toward the centre with the rest of the Chasers.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Jared Comer of the Krestals, " the commentator's voice rang out from somewhere in the stands. "He is really flying out there. He is getting closer to the Falcon goals. He passes it to Chaser Cast. Cast is getting closer-NO- Falcon Chaser Collins takes control of the Quaffle. Collins is out flying the Krestal Chasers."

Marcus turned to see Carter racing toward him. Jamie came around the other side of Carter. Marcus raced off after Carter.

"Collins is now within scoring distance. He is getting ready to score and it looks like he is going to!" There was a pause. "YES, HE IS DENIED BY KEEPER JASPER COMER!"

Cheers erupted from the Krestal fans, while the Falcon ones groaned.

Jasper threw the Quaffle to Cast. Jasper caught Marcus's eye and gave him an evil smile.

Marcus did not return the smile and took off after Cast.

"Cast is now racing toward the Falcons. OUCH. He is hit hard in the head by Falcon Beater Trent Hastings and Cast drops the Quaffle. Taubenfeld of Falmouth takes control of the Quaffle, no one is in his way-he is really moving-dodges a Krestal Chaser-can't tell who it is-Keeper Comer dives and misses. NO, FALCONS SCORE!"

The Falcons fans rose and cheered. The Krestal fans groaned.

Jasper threw the Quaffle to his brother. Jared took off toward his goals. Carter was on his heels, but had to move because of a Bludger.

"KRESTALS IN POSSESSION! JARED COMER IS APPOARCHING THE GOALS! HE IS GOING TO SCORE! FALCON KEEPER CHANG DIVES! YES, COMER HAS BEATEN THE KEEPER! KRESTALS SCORE!"

Cheers came from the Krestal end.

Shane threw the Quaffle to Marcus and he took off. Marcus gripped the Quaffle close to him as he shot down the pitch.

"Flint of the Falcons in possession and passes the Krestal Chasers. He is getting closer to the goals. He is going to score if someone does not stop him!"  
Marcus flew faster until he felt pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a Bludger strike him. The wind left him and he dropped the Quaffle. At the same time, another Bludger struck him in the head.

"That will work," was all he heard as he fell.

When Marcus awoke, the other thing he could feel was the bed sheets against his skin and the dryness from lack of water in the back his throat. He sat up slowly and blinked. He saw that he was in a white hospital room. He assumed that it was St. Mungo's, but was not sure.

"Oh, good you're awake!" Jared Comer exclaimed from the corner. His Australian accent was thicker than ever. Jared had lived in Ireland for almost twenty years and still had the Aussie accents.

Marcus tried not to groan. He was not in the mood to talk to people. The hospital had him on strong pain killers and it made him feel like he was high.

Jared handed Marcus a cup of water. Marcus took it and took a long drink.

"I think you are pretty bruised under there." He pointed to Marcus's covered stomach.

"You think?"

Jared smiled. "Nice to see that you still have your sense of humour."  
Marcus wanted to punch Jared. He wanted to know why Jared was here and not his own captain. Trent Hastings usually stayed with an injured player, unless he was hurt himself. "Where is Trent?"

Jared smiled evilly. "He had a little run in with a Bludger."

Marcus nodded. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with it?"

Jared laughed. "Maybe." He paused. "Besides, I am not a Beater."

"That does not mean a thing."  
"I have taught you well, I see."

Jared clapped his hands together. "Do you why I had my Beaters hit you with a Bludger?"

Marcus shook his head. He had thought that it was because he had the Quaffle, but with Jared Comer everything had another meaning. With Jared, a drop of blood was dropped for a reason.

Jared leaned over Marcus. "To show you that I can still knock you down."

"Why?"  
"Marcus, I do not like it when the younger ones get ahead of me." There was hunger in Jared's blue eyes. "You might not remember it so well because we were on the same team. Last season I cut you some slack because you were new. This time you are fair game." He moved away from Marcus. "The goal was to make you fear me."

Marcus neared his eyes. He did not fear Jared Comer nor would he ever.

"Trust me, kid, I can make your job a living hell for you. We are not on the same team anymore." With that Jared exited the room.

Marcus was not sure how to interpret that. Whatever it was, it did not scare Marcus.


	13. Chapter 13: Broken

Chapter Thirteen: Broken

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

The next morning Katie entered the Great Hall with uncertainly. Her friends had not been in the common room when she got back last night nor had she since them this morning. She did have to admit that she was worried. Had they been expelled?  
Leanne was already in the Great Hall. Katie sat down next to her. "Dumbledore's gone and Umbridge is Headmistress," the other girl muttered.

Katie looked up looked up at the staff table. Sure enough, Umbridge was sitting in Dumbledore's seat with a smug look on her toad face. The other teachers seemed to be trying to stay as far away from Umbridge as possible. Over at the Slytherin table, the Inquisitorial Squad was looked as if Christmas had come early.

"What happened?" Katie whispered.

Leanne looked nervously up at the High Table. "All that anyone know is that Dumbledore is gone, Umbridge is Headmistress, and Harry is still here."  
Katie nodded. She could feel the tension in the air mounting. "Do they know who the ratted us out?"

Leanne's eyes shifted to the Ravenclaw table. Katie followed her friend's eyes. Cho Chang was surrounded by her normal group of girls with the expectation of one person.

" Marietta Edgecombe?" Katie asked. She really did not know the girl. She knew that they were in the same year. From what she had seen, Marietta had seemed like a fairly decent person. Now, Katie was not so sure as to what to think of the girl.

Leanne nodded. "She freaked out and was afraid that her mother would lose her job at the Ministry," she whispered. "Instead of coming to Dumbledore's Army last night, she went to Umbridge's office and ratted us out. She is in the hospital because Hermione put some kind of spell on the rubric with everyone's names on it." Leanne placed her hand over her mouth to cover her giggle. "She now has the word "SNEEK" across her face in pimples and it will not go away."

Katie found the entire thing disturbing. Who could they really trust? "How did you find all of this out?"

"I overheard Harry telling Ron and Hermione in the common room this morning."  
Katie nodded. She looked up and down the table for the rest of her friends. "Where is everyone else at?"

Leanne took at bite of toast. "I think they were going to the library to for a Charms review for their N.E. ."

Katie wondered how Leanne knew so much about her friends. She decided that it would not be wise to press the issue. "I see."

Leanne pulled her Charms book out of her bag. "I am not ready for this test." She opened the thick book. "Are you?"

Charms was one of Katie's best subjects. She did not tell very many people about it. Most of her friends struggled in Charms and Katie did not feel like being a good person and helping them. She also wondered why there was a sudden change in subject. "I think it will be okay."

Leanne groaned. "I hope so."  
Umbridge walked past the Gryffindor table. Her pointy ears was up as she listened in on student's conversations.

"How are we supposed to tell what is what? They are all so close." Leanne looked down at her book. Her face was twisted in clear angst.

Katie bent over the Charms book and pretended to be helping her friend. She watched Umbridge move through the students out of the corner of her eye. The old toad sure took a long time to move herself through them.

Leanne was watching as well. Both girls knew that Umbridge believed that they were involved in Dumbledore's Army. Umbridge also was aware that all of the members had not been rounded up. She was just bidding her time to catch them. The Inquisitorial Squad was also on the lookout for Dumbledore's Army members.

Katie chanced a glance at the Slytherin table. Haley was sitting next to Blaise Zabini and Miley Pucey. Zabini looked as if he was in deep conversation with Draco Malfoy. Both boys were probably pleased with last night's events. Haley was looking down at her plate pointing random items and Miley was reading a thick book. Katie was not sure why Haley even bothered to hang out with Malfoy's gang. She clearly did not like Malfoy.

"Is the toad gone?" Leanne asked out of the corner of her mouth.

Katie looked around the Great Hall. "I do not see her."  
Leanne looked up slowly. "The Slytherins are looking over here now."

Katie looked back at the Slytherin table. Malfoy and his cronies were staring directly at them. Haley and Miley had disappeared. "Maybe they are just moved by our beauty," Katie suggested lightly.

Leanne snorted. "They all know who you are dating."

Katie knew that it was true. Her being with Marcus did get the Slytherins to show her some mercy. Mostly they pretended that she did not exist. Nonexistence was probably better than suffering abuse.

"It is going to get worse," Katie predicted.

Leanne nodded. "All we can hope for is for the curse of the Defence Against the Dark Arts to hold up."

Katie wished that they could be that lucky. Even so, all curses usually ended at some point. Even if the curse lasted, the effects of it lingered in everyone's hearts and minds.

The girls left the Great Hall a few minutes later. Both had Defence Against the Dark Arts with the old hag herself. Katie knew that that Defence was going to be hell today for the non-Slytherins. Umbridge probably believed that all of the rest of the houses were out to get her. That was probably true.

Katie and Leanne made their way to back of the room. It was probably the safest place to be. The Slytherins was already there and were glaring at the Gryffindors. Katie plaid no mind to them and opened her book. She really did not know why she even bothered to come to class. It was not as if she was learning anything.

Umbridge walked in and stood at the front of the classroom. Her toady eyes were darting around the room. They froze briefly on Katie. Katie held the look. She would not allow herself to be broken by Umbridge. Umbridge cleared her throat and looked away from Katie.

"Today, you will need to continue reading chapter twenty-three." Umbridge's high pitch, girly voice was more annoying today than ever."There will be no need to talk."

Katie stared down at the page in front of her. She was not going to do this anymore. She slammed her book shut and raised her hand. Leanne gave her a look.

Umbridge looked up at her, but did not acknowledge her existence.

Katie raised her hand higher.

Umbridge looked away.

"I can keep this up all day," Katie said. She was really sick of people not paying any attention to her.

"Miss. Bell I did not call on you," Umbridge said.

Katie frowned. "A teacher is supposed to help a student who needs it."

Umbridge gave a small laugh. "I was not aware that you needed help reading a book."

Katie looked down at the book's cover. "I help understanding something."

"And what is that, Miss. Bell?" Umbridge was staring her down again.

Katie took a deep breath. It was now or never. The hag had broken the Gryffindor House. Breaking someone usually made them stronger. A broken people was not always broken. Sometimes they were plotting a way to come back and bite you. "Are you planning on teaching us something or are we just supposed to read this damn book and hope we learn something?" She paused. "Because if you are not going to teach, then I really do not see a reason to sit here in class!"  
Everyone was staring at her. Nobody expected this thing from sweet, kind Katie Bell. Katie Bell did not question teachers. Katie Bell did not curse in class or at all.

Umbridge looked dangerously at Katie. "Are you questioning me, Miss. Bell?"  
Katie looked Umbridge directly in the eyes. "No, I am not. I am just stating the truth."  
Umbridge's eyes narrowed. "To question me is to question the Minister."

"I am not questioning you." Katie paused. "I doubt the Minister will be pleased with you once he learns that you are not teaching us."

"This course has been approved by the Minister."

"What is said on paper does not mean that it actually happens." Katie crossed her arms over her chest.

Umbridge scribbled something on a piece of parchment. "Take this to Professor McGonagall."

Katie walked to the front of the room and ripped the parchment from Umbridge's warty hands. She gathered her things and stormed out of the classroom. The halls were empty and oddly silent. She felt as if she was on a death march.

She reached McGonagall's office and knocked softy on the door. She stepped back and waited to invited in. She was not sure what she was going to say to the Head of her House nor how she was going to explain what she had done. It was one of those things that went into her head and she could not stop it.

"Enter," McGonagall ordered from behind the door.

Katie pushed it open and entered.

McGonagall looked up from her desk. "Miss. Bell, what can I do for you?"

Katie handed her the note.

McGonagall took it and read it. Her frown lines deepened. "I do believe that you left Professor Umbridge speechless." She folded the note. "She did not even issue any punishment."

Katie did say anything.

McGonagall gazed sternly at Katie. "I do believe that Mr. Flint has been a bad influence on you." She paused. "I would expect this from him, not you."

"Actually, I think I channelled Haley instead of him."  
McGonagall snorted. "Just remember to be careful around her."

Katie nodded and she was dismissed.


	14. Chapter 14: Red

Chapter Fourteen: Red

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

Marcus sat down on his couch with red clouding his vision. His stomach was still pretty bruised. The Healers and the Quidditch League had placed him on medical leave for the next week. He had been on medical leave at Hogwarts a good number of times, but never on the professional level. Being on medical on the professional meant that he had to see a Quidditch Trainer or Healer at least every forty-eight hours and had to be cleared by both parties. It also meant that he was not allowed to set foot on the pitch until he was cleared.

He picked up the remote and flipped the television on. He had over two hundred channels and he could bet that nothing would be on. He had a good amount of reading that he could do for university, but his mind was not focused enough to learn the body parts of a dragon. The pain potions made him feel loopy and the ones that did not make him loopy, made him tried.

Marcus rested his head against the back of the coach. He was bored out of his mind. He could not escape it. His sore middle made it almost impossible to do any physical activity. He knew that the Healers had repaired a lot of the damage, but it was still annoying to not be completely fixed.

He had to look on the bright side. He was still getting paid the normal amount. Getting paid to do nothing, what could be better?

He closed his brown eyes. He needed to rest. Rest was important to healing. He found it impossible to rest when it was needed the most. Whenever he did not have time to rest, his body and mind wanted to. Now, he found that he could not.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Katie was not even out of school, so he could not ask her to come over. He glanced at his watch. She was not even out of lessons yet and he could not even bug her.

Marcus had not told anyone that he was injured. It would be announced publicly through the Quidditch League. He knew that he needed to tell people before they found out that way. The press had the tendency to overdo injuries. They probably would make it sound as if he was dying, when he really was not.

Also, he was not going to give Comer something to hold over him. They used to be good friends, but times had changed. The colour red made everything so clear. Red was real.

He picked up his mobile and sat it back down. Nah, it could wait. He had other things to do. He had not seen Damon is a long time. He stood up and exited his house. Paying Damon a visit was exactly was he needed now.

**Last Summer **

** Marcus and Damon darted up out of the embankment and raced across the field. They destination goal was a wooded hilltop half a mile away. Marcus did not understand why they could not just Apparte to the top, but Moody said they could not. He really did not want to get in trouble with Moody. The ex-Auror somewhat creped him out. **

** Ten minutes later, they reached the hilltop. The land was so rocky that they had been forced to walk rather than run. The trees were so dense that there was no danger of them being seem from the Muggle homes below, but not dense enough to block the sky. The tops had been cut away from the power lines. It was really a brilliant step up. They were safe from any prying eyes.**

** Damon's blue eyes kept looking back at the full moon. He knew that this mission was supposed to be a secret. "Question, how are they planning on staying out of the moonlight?"  
Marcus looked up at the moon. It was going to be very difficult. He looked closer. He had not noticed how cloudy it was before. "The clouds." **

** "What about them?"**

** "They are probably going to use the clouds as cover." He winced. "That is going to suck."**

** Damon smirked. "Somebody is going to get wet."**

** Marcus looked at them. There were many clouds. "Somebody is going to get very wet." He was glad that it was not going to be him. Since his accident a year and an half ago, he had not been able to keep his body temperature up. He was not sure why, but he was always cold. Whenever he said that he was cold, people would toward his arm and it would be hot. He was not sure why or how. He was starting to think that he was a medical mystery. **

** "How long do we have?" Damon asked. **

** "Don't you have a watch or your phone?" Marcus asked. **

** Damon shook his head. "Phone is at home dead and I never wear a watch."**

** Marcus pulled up the right sleeve on his hoodie and glanced down at his watch. They still had fifteen minutes until show time. "Fifteen."**

** Damon nodded. **

** They passed the fifteen minutes in silence. Both of them stared out of at the wooded area. It was rather boring; there were not even any woodland creatures to keep them occupied. Neither one of them was really in a talking mood. It probably was best that did not talk for the fear of being overheard by a person passing by. **

** So, they just stood there each leaning against a tree. Both were playing a game of waiting. **

** The forest was even silent. It was as if it was dead. The only thing they could hear was the beating of their hearts and the sounds of their own breathing. Adrenaline was still racing through their bodies and that let them eager to move. **

** Marcus glanced down at his watch. "It's time." He pulled his wand out of his pocket.**

** Damon did the same. **

** Marcus raised his wand and sent a wave of red sparks into the night. They sailed into the stars and spread like fireworks. "Wait a few minutes." **

** Three minutes past and Marcus nodded to Damon. Damon shot sparks into the air, only his were green. **

** Marcus waited and started into the sky. He saw the Order briefly as they passed through the stars. He knew that their job here was done. **

Marcus entered Damon's house. Both young men had very similar houses. They lived in the same neighbourhood. The houses were not super close to each other, but were within walking distance. All of the houses were divided by a small forest.

Damon sat his cereal bowl down on the coffee table as Marcus entered. "I was just getting ready to come see you."  
Marcus sat down on the couch next to Damon. "About what?"

Damon pushed his blond hair out of his eyes. "I found something that might interest you." He stood up. "You remember that night with the sparks?"

Marcus nodded.

"I have something that could be important to that." With that he disappeared up the stairs. A few minutes later, he came back downstairs holding a small chest. "I found this in my father's things." He handed to Marcus.

Marcus stared down at the old chest in his hands. "What is it?"

Damon sat back down next to Marcus. "I don't know." He pointed to the lid of the chest. "That is a family marking."

Marcus narrowed his eyes. The red lines were faded and broken. He could barely make out the marking, but the shape of it was as plain as day. He looked up at Damon.

"I told that it would be of interest to you." Damon had as knowing smile on his face.

"Yes, yes you did." Marcus rested against the back of the couch and sighed. Everything had been left wide open and left broken.


	15. Chapter 15: Beast Within

Chapter Fifteen: Beast Within

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**So, here is to the last chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. **

Katie sat down for one the last breakfasts of the year in the Great Hall. The year had gone by rather quickly despite the Umbridge problem. Next year she would enter her seventh and final year, then she would be off to university. She had decided not to continue her Quidditch career after Hogwarts. She wanted to go university and study education. She would like to attend the wizard university called the University of Falmouth.

Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia, Lee, and Leanne joined her a few minutes later. This would be one of their last meals in the Great Hall together. Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, and Alicia would all be leaving Hogwarts in a few weeks.

Fred looked over at his brother. "Operation Firework is in working order?"

George piled his plate high. "Operation Firework is in working order."  
"What is Operation Firework?" Angelina asked carefully. Like Katie, she knew that it was better to remain ignorant on most of the twins plans.

Fred and George smiled evilly. "We just want to give our lovely Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher are nice send off for the summer holiday," they said together.

Everyone else in the group exchanged looks. They knew that this was not going to go well.

"What are you going to do?" Alicia inquired.

"Ever heard of the American holiday the Fourth of July?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," Alicia replied.

"Well, we are going to have a celebration that is very close to that. Only think bigger and better and that is better," Fred said as a daydream expression passed over his face. "Only think of more boom. Only think as the little beautiful spark erupting into the beast within."  
Katie blinked. Fred had defiantly jumped on the train to crazy town and there was no coming back. "How?"

Fred looked over at Katie. "How, you ask my dear Katie. How are we going to do this? Magic is the answer."

Leanne looked at Fred. "Are you drunk?"

Lee snorted into his food.

Fred looked offended. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because you are acting more stranger than more."

"I am perfectly sober." Fred buttered at piece of toast.

"So, when is this Operation Firework going to happen?" Angelina asked, changing the subject.

"This afternoon," George answered.

Katie when throughout her day wondering about what the twins had planned. She wanted Umbridge to suffer. She also wanted to be present whenever it happened. She would be very upset if Operation Firework happened will she was in Herbology.

She slammed her books down on her desk in Charms. Leanne looked up at her. "Nothing yet," Leanne commented.

Katie nodded and sat down. "They must be waiting for a time whenever everyone's guard is down."

Leanne nodded. She looked around at the other students who were mingling in the class. Professor Flitwick was climbing up on his pile of books. Once on top of the books, the tiny professor began looking through his notes. The Charms professor never started class on time. Everything was normal.

Flitwick clapped his hands above his head. "Take your seats!" he commanded.

The class settled in.

"Today we will be reviewing the Laughing Charm from last class." He paused and looked around his class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. "I think that in light of the recent events that we could all use a good a laugh."  
The class let out a small chuckle.

"Partner up and let the good times begin!"

Katie and Leanne turned to each other.

"Are you ready?" Leanne asked.

Katie nodded. She needed to have a good laugh.

Leanne put the charm on Katie. Within a few minutes, Katie found herself doubled over with laughter. Everything in the room was so funny. She could not move or look at anything without laughing. The little sparkles flying into the room was especially funny.

"Is that a bomb?" a Muggle born Hufflepuff asked. His partner was laughing at his confusion.

Flitwick looked up. His small eyes followed the objects. The objects floated into the room and floated to the very top. Their sparkles grew larger and brighter. Within a few minutes, they were double their size. Katie stared up at them with a smile on her face. The sparkles kept growing. The brightness and the growing stopped. There was silence in the room. Then, there was a brief flash of light and an explosion. Those with the Laughing Charm on them, started laughing.

Katie pointed to the fireworks that were now dancing around the room. " The little beautiful spark erupting into the beast within," she said quoting Fred. Tears from laughing were running down her face. "I am quoting Fred, this is bad." She started laughing again.

Leanne looked at her friend. Her face was filled with concern. "Okay, happy time is over." She took the charm off Katie.

Katie stopped laughing. "Thanks."

Leanne nodded. "No problem." She looked up at the fireworks. One above their hands, burst into a world of rainbow colours.

Katie looked around the room. Dozens of fireworks were lighting the room up. "They are going to burn down the school," she muttered.

Leanne nodded. "At least, Umbridge will have to suffer."

Flitwick looked up at the fireworks and, then, to the class. "I need someone to go and fetch Professor Umbridge. I do not think that I am qualified to take care of this problem."

The class laughed as a Hufflepuff boy ran out of the room.

Professor Flitwick clapped his hands together. "I think it would be best if we clear the room so that the Headmistress can properly do her job."

Katie and Leanne went to gather their things and followed the rest of the class out of the room. In the hallway, there was nothing but chaos. None of the teachers had bothered to take care of the fireworks. Katie knew that they were just doing it to create Hell for Umbridge. Peeves was circling high above the students with pure delight on his face.

Leanne looked around smiling widely. "I think the hag is going to be quite busy for a long time."  
Katie laughed as another group of fireworks went off. "They have been planning this for too long."

"Looks that way," Leanne replied. "It is really amazing that they fail almost all of their classes. They really are bloody brilliant."

Fireworks were now circling the above Umbridge's head as she came out of her office. The Inquisitorial Squad was hot on her heals.

"Find them!" Umbridge screamed.

The Inquisitorial Squad took off running in different directions. Katie and Leanne exchanged worried looks. They did not want Fred and George to get caught.

"Professor Umbridge!" a cry came from a few halls down. "We found them!"  
Katie followed the rest of the students down the hall. There was a swamp in the middle of the hallway.

Students were standing all around the walls in a great ring; teachers and ghosts were also in the crowd. Prominent among the onlookers were the members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were all looking exceptionally pleased with themselves, and Peeves, who bobbing overheard, gazed down upon Fred and George, who stood in the middle of the floor with the unmistakeable look of two people who had just been cornered. 

"So!" said Umbridge triumphantly. (Rowling page 673) 

Katie saw Harry standing a few feet away from the mob.

"So...you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fed, looking back up at her without the slightest sign of fear. 

Filch elbowed his way, closer to Umbridge, almost crying with happiness. 

"I've got the form, Headmistress," he said hoarsely, waving a piece of parchment." I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting...Oh, let me do it now..." 

"Very good, Argus," she said. "You two," she went on, gazing down at Fred and George, are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school." 

"You know what?" said Fred. "I don't think we are." 

He turned to his twin. 

"George," said Fred, "I think we've outgrown our full-time education." 

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," said George lightly. 

"Time to test out talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" asked Fred. 

"Definitely," said George. 

And before Umbridge could say a word, they raised their wands and said together, "Accio brooms!" 

There was a loud crash somewhere in the distance. Fred and George's broomsticks, one still trailing the heavy chain and iron peg with which Umbridge had fastened them to the wall, were hurtling along the corridor toward their owners. They turned left, streaked down the stairs, and stopped sharply in front of the twins, the chain clattering loudly on the flagged stone floor. 

"We won't be seeing you," Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick. 

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," said George, mounting his own. 

Fred looked around at the assembled students, and at the silent, watchful crowd. 

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three Diagon Alley-Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes," he said in a loud voice. "Our new premises!" 

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use out products to get rid of this old bat," add George, pointing at Professor Umbridge. 

"STOP THEM!" shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet into the air, the iron peg swinging dangerously below. Fred looked across the at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd. 

"Give her hell from us, Peeves." 

And Peeves swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to a tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset. (Rowling, page 674-675) 

The next few weeks pasted in a blur to Katie. A good number of students had taken up on the twin's advice and were making Umbridge's life as awful as possible. If Katie had not known what she had put the school through, she would had felt sorry for the woman.

The Quidditch season ended up turning around for the Gryffindor team as they upset Ravenclaw during the final. Katie found it to be a miracle, but knew that something was missing. Winning was not the same without Harry, Fred, and George. It was even different without Oliver.

The last feast in the Great Hall was one of the most memorable. Umbridge had been in the hospital after a run in with the centaurs. It appeared that her plan was to seek out of the school during the feast. Luckily Peeves gave her a proper send off. With a walking cane, he beat Umbridge over the head clear to the gates with the school cheering him on.

Katie could not stop laughing on the way up the common room that final night. What had been an awful year, turned out not to be that bad.

Leanne was next to Katie. "I wonder what next year will bring. Maybe we will have a quite year."

Katie let out another loud laugh. "Dream on, girl. Nothing is ever dull at Hogwarts."

**The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay returns January 2013! So strange to write that. Anyway, finals and the holidays are now upon us. I look forward to seeing you guys in the New Year! **


	16. Chapter 16: Dark Chest of Wonders

Chapter Sixteen: Dark Chest of Wonders

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

** He handed the book and parchment over. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this. This could cost all of them their lives.**

**"Is this everything?" one asked.**

**"It's all I could find," he said.**

**"Good," another said.**

**"Are you sure about this," a third inquired.**

**He nodded. "Positive." He turned to leave. "I'll be back next week."**

Marcus stared at the dark chest in front of him. It had been two weeks since Damon presented him with it and he had not been able to bring himself to open it. A lot had happened in the past few weeks. Sirius had been killed and the return of Lord Voldemort was known to all. The Order had been moved from London to the Burrow. People were disappearing everyday and there was a certain tension in the air. No one knew who to trust and who not to trust.

He slumped back against his armchair with a sigh. He raised his hand and pinched his temples. He hated whenever everything got complicated. He just wanted to go back into a daze. Whenever he had been drinking, he could do this, but not now. There were some things that he needed to be sober for.

He had just been a child during the last Dark War and really did not remember it. The last Dark War was something that was not talked about at home. It brought back too many bad memories. He knew that his uncle, his dad's brother, had been murdered by Lord Voldemort and that his mum's dad had been Minister of Magic during the crisis. He also knew that a lot of his parents' close friends were killed during the war.

And now, he had been dragged into the mess.

Marcus knew that his parents were not okay with what the Order wanted him to do. He had heard them arguing last night with other Order members. Brad and Jasmine Flint thought that it was too risky to send him into the ranks of the Death Eaters. They thought that he was too young to be in that deep. Marcus knew that if it was not him, they probably would have no objections to sending someone in.

He did not know how to feel about them defending him, which was part of the reason why he had not told them about the chest. He knew he should since it was a family thing, but he could not bring himself too. There was a little voice in his head telling him to keep his mouth shut.

The chest was not going to go anywhere if he did not open. Sitting and staring at it was not going to get him anywhere if he did not open it. It came down to the simple fact that he was going to have to open the chest.

As he rubbed his hands together, Marcus leaned closer to the chest. Yep, there it was just waiting for him. Okay, he was not getting anywhere. He sighed once again.

He needed a drink before he did this. He knew that he had was going back on his goal to quit, but he really needed one. He knew that using drinking as a confidence booster was low. He knew that he was more than likely going to kill his liver, but he needed it. Okay, he may had been slightly addicted to the stuff. He just could not help it.

He almost made it to the kitchen before he realized that he did not have any drink in the house. This lack of it made his mission rather difficult. He placed his hands on his hips. Now what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to go the pub or open the chest?  
Marcus knew what the answer was and he really did not want to do that. He went back to the living room and looked at the chest. It was still sitting on the coffee table right where he had left it.  
He knelt down in front of the coffee table and pulled the chest close to him. It was such a small object; he really did not see the harm it could do. He tried to open it, but it would not budge. He leaned back and stared at the chest thinking that he was stupid enough to believe that it would just open right up. He picked the object up and examined it a little closer. There was no place for a key or any other object nor did the chest appear to be sealed shut. It just simply would not open.

Marcus narrowed his eyes and swore. He looked at the chest again and throw it on the table. He got to his feet and began to pace. He was missing something that was probably so simple.

He lifted the chest up to see if there was something on the bottom. There was something there, something faint. Once again, he narrowed his eyes. The bottom of the chest read: A lorg an fhírinne, ní mór duit a oscailt do shúile. Chun freagraí a lorg, ní mór duit muinín do neamhchiontachta. A oscailt an cófra dorcha wonders, é a fheiceáil trí croí glan go raibh cónaí ar uair amháin mar sin ó shin fada.

"To seek the truth, you must open your eyes. To seek answers, you must trust your innocence. To open the dark chest of wonders, see it through a pure heart that lived once so long ago," Marcus muttered. It made no sense. It reminded him of something that Dumbledore would say to him whenever he was hauled the Headmasters office during his Hogwarts days. Then again, Marcus was really not one for riddles.

He slammed the chest back on the table. What the hell was it supposed to mean? He really did not want to take it to the Order people and not have a clue as to what they are supposed to be looking at. They already doubted his abilities and he really did not want to degrade himself any further.

But there was something about this chest. It was a key to something. He just did not know what. He threw himself back on his couch. The answers had to be there, but he just did not know what they were.

Marcus placed his arm over his eyes. "To seek the truth, you must open your eyes. To seek answers, you must trust your innocence. To open the dark chest of wonders, see it through a pure heart that lived once so long ago," he whispered to himself again. He thought about it again, but came up with nothing. He swore. What on earth was the riddle talking about?

**Marcus walked up the hill to his house with his head low. The wind and the rain was making it rather difficult to walk. He ducked into the basement entrance of his home and stripped his muddy boots and wet hoodie off.**

** "You really need to get something waterproof," his dad said from the couch.**

** Marcus stepped into the basement den. He looked at the north wall which had a row of built in fish tanks. The tanks were filled with various marine life. "I do. It wasn't raining when I left." He paused and looked at his dad. "What are you doing here anyway?"**

** Brad stood up and went over to his son. His face was grim. "He has returned. Do you understand?"**

** Marcus froze and nodded. "I understand."**

Marcus sat up. Innocence referred to a child. He needed to see the chest through the eyes of a child. A child was harmless and he had not been a child for so long. He did not have the pure heart of child. He understood that the world was not all good.

But that still was not going to help him open the chest.

See the world through the eyes of child...He was not sure how he was going to pull that one off. He viewed the world as a cold place. A child saw the world as a magical place where not harm could come them. He was exactly innocent like a child and he had done things that he was not proud of. There was no possible way that he could open the chest.

No, he would find a way to open the chest. He would not be beaten by a little wooden box.

Marcus looked at the chest again. He really could not bring himself to see the world through the eyes of a child. In order to do that, he would have to turn back time. The world had stolen away that innocence from him.

He rested his hand on the lid once again and closed his eyes. He needed to trust the child in him. He needed to remember what it was like to be a child. He needed a memory.

** Marcus tickled her. "What are you going to do about it?"**

** Katie was laughing. "St-sto-stop it"**

** Marcus does not listen. **

** "Marcus, I'm serious!"**

** What are you going to do about it?"**

** Katie reached up under his shirt and tickled his stomach. He stopped tickling her. "That's cheating."**

** She looked innocently up at him. "Nope, it's not."**

** Marcus pinned her down to the bed and crawled over top of her. Their faces were centimetres apart. He also pinned her arms down. "Now, what are you going to do?"**

** Katie smiled a wicked smile at him. "This."**

** "Huh?"**

** "That's for me to know and you to find out."**

** Marcus looked confused. **

** Katie drew her legs up. Marcus jumped back thinking that she was going to kneel him in a bad spot. However, Katie had other intentions and without his knowledge, he was going exactly what she wanted him to do. She sit up quickly and shoved him from the top bunk. He landed on the floor with a loud thump. **

** Just as he was sitting up, the door opened and Katie's father, Jim, stuck his head in. "What on earth on you two doing in here?" He had not noticed Marcus on the floor. **

** "Nothing," Katie said. **

** "That hurt," Marcus said at the same time. **

** Jim looked at Marcus on the floor and then at Katie. He shook his head on walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. **

** Marcus looked up at Katie. "He didn't even ask if I was okay."**

** Katie responded by throwing a pillow at him, which hit him in the face. **

Marcus heard the chest click and felt the lip open. He opened his eyes and stared into the chest. Inside, there was a stack of folded up pieces of yellowed parchment. He reached his hand in and pulled the paper out and very carefully unrolled it. It was a set of directions of some kind with drawings included. He narrowed his eyes.

These were not just any kind of drawings and directions. These were the designs to make a weapon.

He knew that he should tell the Order about this, but it could wait until after the American final. What was a few weeks after all?

**Not the fastest of paced chapters, I know. This chapter will come to play an important role later on in the story. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! **


	17. Chapter 17: Faint

Chapter Seventeen: Faint

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie flopped down no her bed, her blond hair fanned out around her. She really did not know what she was going to do with her life this summer. Angelina and Alicia were going to be busy preparing for the rest of their lives and Fred and George were busy with their joke shop. Leanne's parents had shipped her to the Netherlands for the summer to help with some dying relative. She did not really have any other close friends outside of them. She supposed that she could hang out with Haley, but there was just some things that she could not discuss with Haley. Boy, for instances; she would be talking about Haley's brother after all and that would just be awkward.

There was Marcus as well, but she did not want to come off as the clingy girlfriend either. Besides, he was in the United States for a Quidditch final for a few weeks anyway. He had asked her to go, but she declined. She liked going to his games. A final meant that she would be in a hotel room all day while he slept. (The games were late at night.) She really did not want to watch him sleep, even if he did sleep with his shirt off most of the time. She did not mind looking at his chest one bit.

No, she had to resist.

Katie rolled over onto her stomach. One of the drawbacks of summer holiday was that she was usually alone for them. She did not like to go out and party like other people her age nor did she like to stay out late at night. She enjoyed spending her evenings with a book or something like that.

Plus, getting drunk really did not appeal to her. She had seen Marcus drunk or hungover so many times that she really did not care to experience it.

She stared at her floor. Summer was supposed to be exciting and, yet, she was bored out of her mind. There was just simply nothing to do. She supposed that she could call Marcus or something, but knew that he would asleep. He was very grumpy when something or someone woke him up (pretty much like he was when he was hungover).

Katie directed toward her head to the window. Of course, it was not even a nice day outside! It was England after all, the land of rain.

She flopped back over and looked at her mobile to see if she had any new messages. She did. She opened it and saw that it was from Oliver Wood. She had not heard from him in months. He wanted to know if she wanted to hang out or something. She had nothing better to do and thought that it could not do any harm.

**Two Hours Later, London **

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see who it was. She whipped around and found herself staring into Oliver's gray eyes. "Do you want to go somewhere?" he inquired. Katie could hear a hint of his soft Scottish accent.

"Sure," Katie said. "Are we going to walk?"

Marcus laughed. "Believe it or not, I have something called a drivers license."

Katie gave him a look that said, "Really, boy."

"My dad made me get it," he sheepishly said. "And your boyfriend has one."

Katie wondered what that had to do with anything. "Yes, and I am terrified for my life every time I get in a moving vehicle with him," she said laughing.

Oliver laughed too. He shifted from foot to foot. Katie could tell that he really did not want to talk about Marcus. "I wouldn't do that too you."

"Hup." She would see about that.

Oliver lead the way over to a small blue car.

He turned to Katie. "Are you ready?"

Katie climbed into the passenger's seat. "Don't wreck me, alright?"

"Would I ever do that?"

"Yes."

Katie watched him drive. He had not wrecked her yet, but he did seem to have problems with the speed limit (like a certain boyfriend who will not be named). She was afraid of that chance that he was going to wreck her or get a speeding ticket. She doubted that he had Muggle money to pay for any of this anyway.

"So, Diagon Alley sound good?" he asked.

"Um, sure," she said. Unlike him, she never took her eyes off of the road.

"Good, I need to pick up a couple of things," Oliver said as he looked over at her.

Katie remained quiet for a couple of minutes. She wondered why he could not do this on his own. She did not mind, but just found it a little strange. She shrugged. "Okay."

He took his eyes of the road. "Anyway, I need another pair of gloves."

"Why?" It was the middle of the summer.

"Are you crazy? My Quidditch gloves are falling apart."

Katie rolled eyes. Typical, Quidditch player. "Um, Oliver, do me a favour?"

"Yeah?"

"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!"

"Oh, yeah."

Oliver parked the car in front of a Muggle bookstore. Katie watched as his eyes followed the Muggles. He really did look out of place in the Muggle world. He looked like a lost, little boy.

"Problem?" she asked him.

He opened his door and climbed out. Without a word, he strolled toward the Leaky Cauldron. She blew out air and followed him. By the time she had caught up with him, he was leaning against the bar.

"You could have waited," she huffed at him. He had asked her to spend the day with him after all.

"I thought you were behind me," Oliver said innocently.

Katie decided to let him off just this once.

He turned and headed toward the Diagon Alley entrance. She followed close behind him.

Oliver went into the Quidditch supply shop and brought the most expensive gloves he could find. He knew that they were overpriced, but they were also the best gloves out there.

All this time, Katie didn't say a word. It was kind of hurting him a little. Usually she didn't shut up when she was around him. People had always said that she was shy and quite. Maybe now it was coming out.

He stood in the square deep in thought for a few moments. He looked to his left and saw Katie looking up at him.

" Why so quite?" he asked.

She smiled but said nothing.

Later that afternoon, they went back to the Muggle world. Katie wanted to introduce Oliver to fast food. He just did not understand how restaurants could serve food fast. She had done the same thing with Marcus once upon a time.

Katie thought she better ask the question before he made a complete idiot of himself. "Have you ever eaten in a restaurant?"

Oliver looked offended. "Yeah."

"Just checking."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Do you want me to answer that truthfully or not?"

"That depends on your answer."

Katie shook her head and rolled her eyes. Boys were always the same, no matter is they were wizard or Muggle.

"Does that head shake mean I'm not stupid?"

"No, I was mocking you." She stopped outside of a McDonalds. She thought that she'd better keep it simple (Subway would have been too difficult for him. Too many choices.)

Katie led the way into McDonalds. She watched as Oliver stared down the meal. He looked completely lost.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

"What are you getting?" he asked.

"A Big Mac."

"You know what a Big Mac is?" Katie asked. She was in disbelief that he knew that. Most wizards did not know about a Big Mac, probably never even heard of one before.

"Yeah."

Katie narrowed her eyes and put an accusing expression on her face. "Have you been here before?"

"In London, yes. In McDonalds, no."

"Then how did you know?"

"I know one thing and you seem shocked, Bell."

"Have you ever heard of a Big Mac?"

"Yeah, that's what we're discussing here."

She walked up to the cashier, ordered two Big Macs (to go), and looked at him. "Aren't you going to pay?" He handed her a roll of Muggle money and gave her the look that proclaimed: I do not know the Muggle money system. She rolled her eyes and counted out the correct amount.

While they were waiting on their food, Katie turned to Oliver again. "Seriously, how did you know about the Big Mac?"

"I just knew."

Before she could question him anymore, their food came and they exited the McDonalds.

Once they were outside Oliver turned to Katie. "Besides, there was a picture next to it."

They walked across an alley to a small park. No one was in the park, so they had their choice of picnic tables. Naturally Oliver choose one that was the farthest away from the highway.

Katie slammed the food down on the table but did not say a word. Going too fast food places just was not the same if she was not with Marcus. Oliver lacked Marcus's personality. He was rather bland after being with Marcus for so long.

Oliver took some fires and a Big Mac out of the bag.

She handed him a shook up Diet Coke (He did seem to know what that was. Katie had seen him drink before too.)

"At least I paid for your lunch. I could have been been mean and not." He took a bite of his sandwich.

He studied his sandwich. "This isn't as good as what you can find in our world."

Katie nodded as if she cared. She felt faint around Oliver. They used to be such good friends and did not understand the change. He acted like he always did. Maybe she was the one who had changed.


	18. Chapter 18: Sooner or Later

Chapter Eighteen: Sooner or Later

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

The American Final had come and gone. Marcus knew that there was no getting out of telling people about the chest. Whenever he told them, he would have to explain how he had had the chest for awhile now. He knew that was not going to go over well. Maybe he would mention it if they were in a good mood. If the Order was in a good mood, they were a little more forgiving. Heck, they may not even ask for details.

He pulled his robe over his jeans and T-shirt. The meeting started in a few minutes. He had thought about skipping out on the meeting, but knew the Order would not like that. They were fine with him missing do to Quidditch, but expected him to be there when he did not have it.

There was no going back now. He had to suck it up and deal with it.

Marcus grabbed the chest off the coffee table and slide it into his pocket. The chest only created a slight budge on his side. He was just grateful that he did not have to carry it in his hands. He did not want to be the one to open the meeting.

Marcus swore as he left his house.

~****~  
Marcus arrived outside the Burrow a few minutes later. The Order had moved Headquarters from London to here while he was at the American Final. He was glad to have missed out on that delightful adventure.

Remus arrived behind him. "How was the final?" he asked as he brushed off the shoulder of his robe.

Marcus shrugged.

"One of those things?" Remus asked.

Marcus nodded.

"You're not in a talking mood today are you?"

Marcus smiled. "Why talk when you can use gestures."

Remus laughed. "True...Just as long as the gestures are appropriate."

"Would mine ever be?"

Remus snorted. "I have seen some things come out of your mouth and seen you do some gestures on the Quidditch pitch that I thought I would never see from you."

"But that is the pitch. It's different." Marcus paused. "And that was really bad."

"What?"

"Your sentence," Marcus called over his shoulder as he started walking toward the Burrow.

Remus stood there for a few minutes as he thought about it. "Yeah, I suppose you are right."  
"Aren't I always?"

Remus snorted. "We will see about that."  
Marcus studied the Burrow. It amazed him that if was still standing. It looked as if it should have fallen in a long time ago. He supposed that was the beauty of magic. Still it made him nervous to go out on one of the branches. He did not want to be talking to someone and boom end up on the lawn. He preferred his houses to be sturdy and with each part secured to the ground in some way or another. Whatever works, he guessed.

He opened the door gently and gently closed it behind him. Again, he was afraid that the house would come tumbling down on top of him.

The rest of the Order was already sitting around a long table that had been crammed into the tiny kitchen. Some of the members looked as if they had been forced behind the table and the wall. It looked as if Kingsley was not going to get out from behind the table until the table was actually moved.

Brad Flint caught his son's eye and motioned him over. Marcus knew that he had no choice. He went over to his dad and sat down next to him. Marcus did not look at Brad and stared straight ahead.

"Marcus," Brad whispered.

Marcus paid no attention to him.

Brad touched Marcus's shoulder. "Marcus, pay attention."  
Marcus turned to his father. "What?"  
"I asked you three times what is in your pocket," Brad said in English. Marcus wished that his dad had asked him in Italian because Mad Eye was looking over at them.

"It's nothing," Marcus hissed.

Brad's eyes narrowed. "You are lying."

Marcus wished that his dad would drop it, but knew that would never happen. His dad always picked up on his son's different moods. He was also good at determining when Marcus was lying; Marcus always hated that. It got him in trouble more than once.

"Marcus."  
Marcus did not answer. He was now regretting just sticking the chest in just his robe pocket. He should had made it smaller and stuck it in his jeans.

Jasmine Flint joined her husband and son. "What is going on?"  
Marcus did not answer. They would find out sooner or later. He would prefer later.

"Your son is hiding something," Brad stated.

Jasmine stated at Marcus. Her eyes were the same as his. "Marcus?" She touched his arm.

His mother could also always get stuff out of him. Marcus was not going to allow for it this time. They would find out whenever the rest of the order did and not a minute sooner.

Jasmine was still staring at Marcus. "Do you want to tell us now or do we have to force it out of you?" Sometimes that woman could be very cruel. Marcus knew that she would use force on him if there was no choice.

"Not now," Marcus whispered.

Brad and Jasmine exchange looks.

Marcus sighed. He really did not want to have a fight with his mum and dad right now. He knew that they were trying to protect him, but now was not the time. There was a time for everything and his parents should know that by now.

He wanted to tell them that it was not their place to stay anything or ask questions. That had been his parents' policy toward many things. He wished that they would stand by that policy now. If he said anything about it, he would be the one to pay.

**A few months earlier **

**Marcus looked down at his hands. "So, have you are heard anymore about the connection?" he asked, switching to English with ease. Harry Potter appeared to have some sort of dangerous connection with Lord Voldemort's mind. Sirius had been the one to share this information at the last Order meeting. It may sound useful, but most of the Order saw it as dangerous. Including Marcus...**

** Brad shook his head. "No more than last time." He looked toward the back of the study. "Harry is probably keeping it secret. He just mentioned in it passing." **

** "Why isn't he saying more?"**

** Brad shrugged. **

** "Why aren't they pressuring him to say more? Why are they not trying to break it?" Marcus did not understand this. Had it been him with the connection, they would had probably been trying to break it by any means necessary. His mum's father would had gone crazy. He was the former Minister of Magic and used to be the head of the Aurors. He had been Minister of Magic during the First Dark War. He had since retired. Retirement had not stopped his hatred for the Dark Arts. **

** Brad looked back at his son. "I do not know. Yes, I think that something should be done about it, but I do not know if it any of ours' place to say anything." He paused. "Had it been you, Haley, or any of your brothers, I would do anything and everything in my power to break it." He had just proved Marcus's theory. **

** Marcus rubbed his chin. He could feel stubble from two days without shaving. "Why doesn't anyone try harder to break it?" he inquired. **

** Brad rubbed his face in his hands. "I do not know. Harry has no one to stand up for him?"**

** "What about Sirius?"**

** Brad shrugged. "Sirius seems to be lost in some kind of illusion. He seems to think that Harry is James." He paused. "Harry is not James. He is far from it. They may look alike, but they really do not act alike." **

** "Has anyone told him what James was really like?" Marcus knew that Harry had come to believe that James had been somewhat of a saint. Marcus knew otherwise. **

** "No and it is not either of our places to say anything," Brad snapped. "So, keep your mouth shut about it."  
Marcus looked up at his father in surrender. "Okay, then. He will be in the for the shook of his life whenever he finds out." **

** Brad sighed. "I know that, but-" **

** "It is not our place to say," Marcus finished. **

** "See, I have it drilled into your head." **

** Brad smiled. **

** Marcus looked back down at his hands. He had been wanting to ask this next question for quite awhile, but could find no one who he felt comfortable asking. It was probably a stupid question. It was one that he already knew the answer too, but he kind of needed to hear it spoken aloud. "It is going to get a lot worse, huh?" **

** Brad looked his son in the eye. His face had a forlorn look on it. He looked as if he did not want to be the one to speak it out loud either. "Yes, I am afraid that it is." **

** "People are going to die," Marcus said slowly. **

** "Yes, a lot of good, innocent, and unknowing people are going to die." Brad stared straight ahead. "It is the sad and simple truth. Death will not be the only thing we had to be concerned with. Betrayals are going to happen and some of them are going to be quite painful." **

Marcus only halfway paid attention to the meeting. The chest in his pocket seemed to be burning. It was not literally burning his flesh, but it felt like it. He kept looking at his watch. Had his parents not jumped all over him, he probably would had said something.

"Marcus," Mad Eye snapped. He slammed his hand down on the table. "For the third time, have you learned anything from Miss. Woods?"  
Marcus jerked to attention. "Um, no." He did not add that he had not spoken to Natalia for a few weeks.

Mad Eye and a few of the other members gave him evil looks. Marcus did not look away. "Pay attention, boy," Mad Eye snapped.

Brad gripped Marcus's thigh hard. Marcus knew he was probably going to have bruises there in the morning.

Marcus followed people's for the rest of the meeting, but did not say a word nor did anyone speak to him. The meeting ended an hour later.

"So, Marcus, what is in your pocket?" Brad asked loudly as Marcus stood to leave.

Marcus tried not to groan. He really did not want to do this now. The rest of the Order members were looking at him with interest.

"Well?" Brad pushed.

Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled the chest out. He placed it on the table.

Mad Eye's magical eye was spinning. "I thought that had been lost," he said slowly. "Where did you get it?"

"One of my friends found it," Marcus said. He was not going to tell them about Damon.

"Have you opened it?" Mad Eye asked.

Marcus nodded.

The rest of the Order was looking at them strangely.

"What is it?" Molly Weasley asked.

"It is the key to rebuilding the long rang weapon," Mad Eye said slowly.

"I thought they had all been destroyed," Brad mused.

"They were, but this is what we need to rebuild them." Mad Eye picked the chest up and handed it back to Marcus. "Congratulations, boy, you just found yourself another job."


	19. Chapter 19: Ravenheart

Chapter Nineteen: Ravenheart

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie stepped out of Marcus's ashy fireplace. He really needed to clean it up. She looked around the open floor plan of the first floor. He was not there. She frowned and glanced at the clock on the wall. He had said eleven o'clock and it was eleven o'clock. They were supposed to have lunch together and do something after. She really did not believe that he had forgotten.

She climbed the stairs to his second floor bedroom and looked in. He was stretched out on his bed, sound asleep. She smiled at she watched him sleep. He looked so young and innocent. She did not have the heart to wake him. The American Final always made him tried, but she would have thought that he would had been caught up on his sleep by now. Perhaps this was one of those times when it was best not to ask questions. There was just some things that she really did not want to know about.

She closed the door softy behind her and crept back downstairs. She picked up a book from the end table and flopped down on the sofa. She opened the book without looking at the title page and began to read. Her eyes narrowed at the familiar words. "Is he reading-" She started in as she looked at the cover. "_The Catcher in the Rye." _He really did not strike as the reading type, but Katie knew that he was a secret reader. He just had issues with reading assigned material.

Katie closed the book and rested it on his stomach. She stared at the high wooden ceilings. The wood work in Marcus's house always amazed her. Marcus really was not a fan of it because it had to be stained every couple of years, but she loved it. It added character to the house.

She smiled. His house always made her feel at home, sometimes more so than her own. It was so peaceful. Her house was always loud. She loved her family, but sometimes she just wanted peace. She could get peace here. Marcus had grown up in the opposite situation. His family always lived in manor houses and each member had their own wing. They could go an entire day without seeing each other. She found that to be very depressing. Nah, she would take her loud family over that any day.

She rolled over onto her stomach. She seemed to spend a lot of time laying around these days. She was not sure why. In the world these days, she felt like a visitor in the world.

She stared out the big window that covered the front of the house. A lone raven sat on a tree limb. It cawed out and took off. She was relieved that it did not whisper, "Nevermore." She watched as the raven grew smaller and smaller in the sky. The raven could see the world. The raven knew all of its' secrets. She just hoped that it was not a messenger of evil.

"Katie," a male voice said from behind her.

Katie whipped around. Marcus stood behind her in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. His face was covered with a day's worth of beard. She went over to him and kissed his lips.

He broke the kiss a few minutes later. "I did not hear my alarm go off." He looked down at her. "You should had woke me up."

Katie smiled up at him. "Naw, I was too busy enjoying your choice of reading material." She went over to the coffee table and picked the book up. "_ The Catcher in the Rye_?"

Marcus took the book from her. "What is wrong with it?" he asked as he studied the book's cover.

"Nothing. I just did not take you as the type of person who reads classical Muggle literature," Katie said smiling.

Marcus shrugged. "I like the story line." He sat down on the couch.

Katie sat down next to him. She kissed him again. He returned the kiss as she climbed up his lap. She gently pushed him down and sat on his hips. She kissed his neck and slid her hands up under his shirt. His stomach was hard from years of playing Quidditch. She could feel his muscles expand and contract as he breathed. His shirt rose up a bit and she could see a little of his abs and the V of his hips.

Marcus was now kissing her neck. His hands were gently running up and down her back. Words could not describe how it made her feel. She felt like she was floating on air. Her stomach felt as if there was several hundred butterflies flying around in there. She did not know why she was so nervous. This was Marcus. There was no reason to be nervous, but she was. It was not a bad nervous, but a good one.

Katie ran her hands through his short dark hair. It was so soft and was just getting long enough to be wavy. She loved it when his hair got wavy. It brought out his looks.

They broke away several minutes to catch their breathes. Katie was not necessary out of breath, but could not stop her head from spinning. Marcus made her feel like a love struck teenager. He was the first guy to ever make her feel this way.

Marcus touched the side of her face. "You are beautiful, you know that right?"

Katie smiled. No male besides her father had ever called her beautiful. She leaned in and kissed him again. She wondered if kissing him for every little thing was over doing it. She decided that it was okay if both parties involved that so.

Marcus sighed and put his arms behind his head. "I guess I screwed up lunch, huh?" He had an innocent boyish look on his face.

"We could do dinner instead," Katie offered.

Marcus nodded. "We could. There would be more options."

Katie nodded and smuggled into him. She really just wanted to stay with him and never move. He was her lover and they were going to be together forever. Nevermore were they going to be separated.

Marcus began to stroke her hair.

Katie looked up at him. "Or we could just stay right here."

Marcus sighed and nodded. "I would like that."

Katie nodded. She leaned back into him. She liked the way that their bodies formed together. He fit her much better than Oliver. She was not going to tell him about her outing with Oliver. She really did not want to have those two going at each other throats right now or any time for that matter. He was her ravenheart and that was not going to change.

Without saying at word, she pinned him back down and slid her hands up his shirt until they rested on his chest. She could feel his heart beat strong and steady. "We could have so much more fun here."

Marcus rested his hands on her hips. "Yes, we can."  
Katie smiled as she kissed. "Nevermore will this end."

The front door opened with a bang. Katie jumped off of Marcus to find Haley staring down at them with a knowing smile on her face.

"Oh, don't stop on account of me," Haley said.

Marcus sat up slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"Mum and Dad are out of the country for a few days and I came to stay with my favourite brother."  
Marcus rolled his eyes.

Katie was still embarrassed about the scene. "Um, great."

**I wanted this to be a more romantic chapter. That was what I was going for anyway. Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20: Unleashed

Chapter Twenty: Unleashed

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

The next day Marcus stood staring at the opened chest with his arms crossed over his chest. He really did not understand why he had got stuck with this job. Sure the instructions were in Irish and he could speak the language. However, he was not the only one in the Order who could. That left only one other option.

This was some kind of test. He knew that some of the Order members did not trust him. Maybe Mad Eye had given him this job in order to prove himself to the doubting members. If Marcus screwed up, then he would lose the trust of the entire Order. Even though he really did not want to be friends with all of the Order members, he at least wanted to be trusted by them. He had not done anything wrong to lose their trust, he just never had it.

Marcus reached into the chest and began to pull out the documents from within the it. He needed to start somewhere.

Each document contained some sort of drawing or words. There appeared to be no order to the documents and no way to determine any sort of order. There was dozens of this documents. This was going to be a fun job. He cursed the one who had just thrown the papers into the chest without any order.

Once all of the documents were out of the chest and onto his dining room table, Marcus slumped down on a chair and swore again. This chest was making him swear more than he usually did and he had not really started on it.

Marcus stood up and placed both hands on the table as he stared at the mess. That is was it was: one giant mess. He really had no idea where to start or even how to start. He had thought that by pulling the documents out of the chest he would had some answers. Now, it was clear that the chest did not hold answers, but held questions.

"A lorg an fhírinne, ní mór duit a oscailt do shúile. Chun freagraí a lorg, ní mór duit muinín do neamhchiontachta. A oscailt an cófra dorcha wonders, é a fheiceáil trí croí glan go raibh cónaí ar uair amháin mar sin ó shin fada," he muttered. _To seek the truth, you must open your eyes. To seek answers, you must trust your innocence. To open the dark chest of wonders, see it through a pure heart that lived once so long ago._ Was there something in that message?

He heard someone come up behind him and begin to rub his shoulders. He looked back into Katie's beautiful blue eyes. She smiled at him as her eyes kept darting down to the table. However, she did not ask what he was doing.

"I'll make us some tea," she said. She walked over to the kitchen area and began to busy herself with the tea making process.

Marcus stared back down at the mess on the table and frowned. " To seek the truth, you must open your eyes. To seek answers, you must trust your innocence," he muttered. He figured that it would be best if he just focused on the first part of the riddle. He had already figured out the last part of it. He really was not sure how he did it though. "To seek the truth, you must open your eyes. To seek answers, you must trust your innocence."

He felt a tap on his bicep and turned. Katie was there with his cup of tea. He took it and turned back to his thoughts without saying a word.

Katie stood beside of Marcus. "What are you muttering about?" she inquired.

Marcus took a long drink of tea. The hot liquid almost burned his mouth. "I don't really know."

Katie pointed to the table. "Does it have something to do with these?"

Marcus sighed. "Yeah." He pointed to the riddle. "This is a clue to figuring out what it all means."

Katie nodded as she took a drink. "Do you have any idea what is something to be?"

Marcus nodded. "It is supposed to be some sort of long range weapon from the First Dark War. They were all supposedly destroyed and these are the directions to rebuilding them. The only problem is that I cannot determine where the instructions begin and where they end."

"What does the riddle mean?" Katie inquired.

"To seek the truth, you must open your eyes. To seek answers, you must trust your innocence. To open the dark chest of wonders, see it through a pure heart that lived once so long ago," Marcus replied from memory. "To get it opened, I had to trust the child in me."

"What about now?"

Marcus stared straight ahead. "I don't know." He paused. "I tried to do the same thing and it did not work." He sucked in a deep breath. "Maybe I can't pull that inner child out now."

Katie rubbed his back. "If you were able to pull it out the first time, you should be able to do it again. Look for your innocence. Remember what it was like to be a child."

Marcus wanted to believe that it was that simple. Reaching for his inner child was not that simple. He really had not acted like a child in years. All the moving and the absence of his parents had forced him to grow up quickly. Being a child was like a fairy tale to him.  
Katie put her arms around his waist. "Believe," she whispered. "Unleash your inner child."

Marcus leaned into her. He needed to believe her, but his mind would not allow him to. "I can't," he muttered.

Katie crossed her arms. "I can think of something pretty childish about you?"

Marcus frowned. What in the world could she be talking about?  
"The hate between you and Oliver," Katie said. "You two have hated each other for years over something very mirror. A rivalry seems pretty innocent to me."

The more Marcus thought about it, the more she seemed right. He hated it when she was right about things like this.

"Think about it and believe," Katie whispered as she stepped away from him.

Marcus thought about it for a bit.

** He watched Wood's stunned face as he lead his team across the pitch. He watched as the face went from stunned, to angry, to shocked, back to angry, and repeat. Marcus raised an eyebrow at him. **

** "Captains shake hands," Madam Pooch commanded once they reached the centre of the field. **

** Wood gripped Marcus's hand with all of his might. He was trying to break Marcus's fingers. Marcus didn't wince. He applied just as much pressure if not more. **

** "What are you doing here?" Wood said in undertone. He didn't want Madam Pooch to hear. **

** "Why, playing Quidditch," Marcus said. "What else would I be doing on the pitch?"**

** Wood glared at him. **

** "And beating you," Marcus hissed. **

** "You've got two injured players. Didn't Montague take a Bludger to the head last weekend? I know for a fact that you're not back one hundred percent. Pucey's out because of injury, so you've got a reserve. Hum, I think the tides are against you," Wood said with a smirk. **

** "I wasn't referring to that. I was referring to the fact, that I'm not the one who hurt Katie." With that, he released Wood's hand.**

A few minutes later, Katie taped Marcus's shoulder. "Well?"

Marcus did not look at her. "What?"

Katie hit him in the ribs hard. Marcus winced and rubbed his rib. "That hurt."

"Good." She paused. "Did thinking about it help?"

Marcus shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't tried anything yet."

Katie's eyes narrowed. "Do you want hit again?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Then answer the question."  
Marcus turned back to the documents. A few of them had moved into what appeared to be some kind of order. "Yeah, a few of them moved."

Katie looked at the table. "Is it enough to give you a start?"

Marcus stared at the documents. "Yeah, I think it will."

Katie nodded. "See, you need to trust me."

Marcus could feel an evil smile forming on his face. " Magari una volta ogni tanto."

Katie hit his rib again.

"Will you quit hitting me? You don't even know what I said."

Katie got a thoughtful look on her face. "True, but it must had been bad."

"Why?"

"Because you said it in Italian."

"And?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"You only say things in Italian around me if you don't want me to know what you said."

Marcus looked at her and bent down to kiss her lips. Her breath smelled of tea and toothpaste. Her lips were so soft against his.

"Is this all you two do?" Haley's voice rang throughout the open house.

Marcus jumped away from Katie and glared at his sister. "You know you could go home."

Haley leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. "Do you want me to be all alone?"

"Are you going to keep pestering me?"

Haley pushed off from the wall. "I am your little sister and as your little sister it is my job to make you as miserable as possible." She looked at the documents on the table. "Seems like this person is doing an even better job than I do." She shook her head and tsked. "I am really slacking on my job."

Marcus pulled Haley away from the table. He really did not want her around this stuff.

Haley struck her brother on the arm. "I want to see." She shook free of his grip and went back over the table. A few of the documents moved on the table.

Marcus sighed. He wondered when he would be free of this mess.

Katie was sipping her tea and smirking at him. Marcus knew what she was thinking.

"Don't say it," he said.

Katie's smirk widened. "You know fighting with your sister is what children do."

"I know a lot of older people who fight with their sisters," Marcus said.

"But it did make some of the papers move," Katie fired back.

Haley looked over her shoulder at him. "You two bicker like an old married couple," she said as a few more of the documents moved.

Marcus and Katie exchanged looks.

"Do we sound like an old married couple to you?" Katie asked Marcus.

Marcus shook his head. "I don't see it."

"See, I don't think we do either."

Haley smiled. "Well, I do."

"And did anyone ask you?" Marcus asked.

Haley got a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, technically you just did."

Marcus sighed. He knew that there was end to this. However, it did get a few of the documents to move into their proper places. All he needed was a few more of the pieces of paper to move to unleash all of its' secrets.


	21. Chapter 21: Fairyland

Chapter Twenty-One: Fairyland

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie stared at the documents as more moved into place. She really did not understand what was going on. Haley seemed to be just a lost as she was. Marcus did not have much more of a clue than they did. All she knew was they were building a weapon of some kind.

Marcus's brown eyes were closely following the movement of the documents. Whenever he focused on things, he looked much older than his twenty years. Okay, he had not been twenty for more than a few weeks, but still.

Marcus's eyes narrowed as the final documents moved into place. "I don't understand," he whispered.

Katie went over to him. This could not be good. "What?"

Haley was moving over to them too.

"It's a Muggle weapon." Marcus bent down to look at the documents closer. "And it's called Fairyland."

Katie looked at the documents. It did look like a Muggle weapon right out of World War 2. Instead of shooting out bullets, it acted like an extended wand and shot spells. She pointed to the corner of the last piece of paper. "Modelled after the BL 4.5 inch Medium Gun and the British Ordnance BL 60-pounder."

Marcus studied the documents closer. "There is two of them?" His voice went up.

"Looks that way," Haley said.

Marcus gave his sister a look. "Shut up."

Katie rubbed Marcus's shoulders. "Well, the name is kind of different. I mean who names a weapon Fairyland?"  
"It could had been worse," Marcus said.

"Such as?" Katie really could not come up with anything worse than Fairyland.

"I will let you know whenever I figure one out."  
Katie laughed, but knew that this project was not going to be fun. Both of those weapons were more than likely not serviced in the British military anymore. Finding parts and rebuilding these weapons was not going to be an easy task. Plus, storing and moving these things around was not going to be easy either. Also, people were going to be needed to operate them.

Marcus's forehead was in a frown line. More than likely he had just put two and two together. "I thought that once all of this made sense," he said gesturing to the documents, "that it would all come together. Instead it has made more problems." He hit the table with his fist.

Haley winced. "You really need to work on that temper. You're acting like Daddy."

"I hope not," Marcus muttered. He did not take his eyes off the weapon models.

"I think you got the short end of the stick," Haley continued. "The rest of them have to track Death Eaters and whatnot and you get to build some kind of all get out weapon." She paused. "Your job is much cooler."

Haley kind of surprised Katie. The more she was around Haley, the more of Marcus she saw in the other girl. Neither one of them claimed to be like the other.

"You get to save Fairyland," Katie said.

"Just think, if you fail you could be haunted by a griffin," Haley stated.

Marcus and Katie stared at her. Her analogy made no sense.

Haley shrugged. "It was the best I could come up."

Katie put her arms on Marcus. "How about you take a break from all of that and we do something fun?" she whispered in his ear.

Haley clapped her hands. "Great! I can either come with you guys or I can be left all alone in here."  
Marcus rolled his eyes. "I don't trust you here alone."

"Why not?" Haley put her hand on her hip. "I'm not you."

Katie had no idea what that meant and thought that it was probably best not to ask.

Marcus did not answer.

Katie looked between them. Okay, she lied. She did want to know.

"That was a long time ago."

"It was also the one time you got caught."

Marcus gave his sister a dirty look.

Haley pulled out a chair and sat down. "Oh, I get it. Katie doesn't know about your arrest record."

"Enough," Marcus said harshly.

Katie stood up straighter. She wanted to know about this one. "Yeah, Marcus, what happened?"  
Marcus looked sick. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes!" Katie and Haley barked together.

"I want to know if I'm dating a crazy person," Katie stated.

Haley snorted. "Well, of course you are."  
Marcus had been backed into a corner. Katie knew that he had no choice but to tell them what happened.

"I got picked up for underage at a party when I was sixteen," Marcus muttered. He looked at Katie and said in louder voice, "It was during the summer before I started seeing you."

Katie nodded. That summer he had still been with Avril. She really could not blame him for not telling her. That relationship had gone pretty sour at the end and she really did not know why. She did not think that anyone besides Avril and Marcus knew the details.

"Was that the only time?" Katie asked slowly.

Marcus nodded. "It was the only time I got caught."

Katie already knew that. She knew that he had been pretty wild before he started seeing her. He had almost fallen from grace, but managed to bring himself back. She had wondered what changed. It had taken her many years to realize that she was the one who changed him. She had not meant to either.

Haley cleared her throat. "Now, that we have that little piece of business taken care of, what are we going to do?"

Katie had not really thought about that. She just wanted to hang out with Marcus. As long as he was involved, she really did not care what they did. Since Haley was more than likely coming along, they would have to do something that would be fun for all of them. If it was just her and Marcus, there would be a lot more options. But as it was.

Marcus was looking at Katie. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"What are we going to do?"

Katie shrugged and thought about. She really did not know what there was to do around here.

"We could go zip lining," Haley suggested.

Katie did have to admit that did sound fun. She had always wanted to go, but never got the chance. She did not know what was so thrilling about flying down a hill with nothing but a piece of rope between you and your death. It just sounded really fascinating. She was game.

Katie chanced a glance at Marcus. His face was as pale as ice, but he did not say anything. She knew that other than Quidditch, Marcus did not do heights. It was a strange concept and was something that she really did not understand.

"Is that a problem for anyone?" Haley asked.

Marcus gave Haley a look. "You're sick, you know that right?"  
"And where would you be without me?"

Marcus did not respond. Katie knew where he would be: on the ground with his two feet planted firmly on it.

Haley smirked evilly at her brother. Katie never understood why they insisted on tormenting each other. "Are you good with that?"

Katie saw Marcus's Adam's apple move. "Yeah," his voice was slightly higher than normal. If Katie had not been listening closely to him, she would not had noticed it.

Haley pulled Marcus's truck keys out of her back pocket. "I knew you would feel that way." She threw the keys at Marcus, who caught them with ease.

Katie looked back at Marcus. His face colouring had turned back to normal, but she could tell that he was not okay. She was not going to say anything because she really wanted to go. If he had a problem with it, then he was going to have to say something himself.

Marcus jingled his keys. "Let's go then," he said.

Haley nodded and headed in the direction of the garage.

"And get this suicide mission over with," he muttered under his breath.

Katie tried not to laugh. She found it so odd that he would not say that he did not want to go. He was probably just trying to prove that heights did not bother him. He was going to play tough guy when the reality of it was that he probably wanted to find himself a corner and cry.

He looked up at her with an embarrassed look on his face. "Did you hear that?"

Katie nodded.

"Great," he muttered as he walked past her.

**One Hour Later **

The three of them stood on the edge of a zip line platform. Marcus was hovering a few steps away from the edge though.

Katie stared down at the trees and at the soft rolling hills. She could not wait to this. She wanted to feel the wind rush through her hair and her body. She wanted to be falling and saved at the very last night. She just really wanted to do this. She wanted to have this last blast of the summer holiday.

Haley was bouncing up and down. "So, how wants to go first?" She glanced back at Marcus. "Do you want to go, brother?"

Marcus shook his head.

Katie bounced forward. Energy was rushing through her body. "I will." She strapped her helmet on.

Haley nodded. "Marcus, you can go last."

"Fine with me," Marcus muttered.

Katie let the attendant strap her in. As she laid on her stomach, she stared straight ahead. In a matter of seconds she would be flying down the side of a hill and it would be amazing.

"Ready?" the attendant inquired.

Katie nodded and the attendant shoved her forward.

She was flying through the air. The wind was pushing her down in the platform she was strapped to. She looked up at the grayish sky then back down at the lust green grass. This was amazing. She could see for miles.

The line was making a sound that resembled a zipper being zipped up. That line was the only thing keeping her from plummeting to her death.

She was gaining speed as she raced down the hillside. The height of the hill was ending to fast, but she was still gaining speed. She reached the end of the hill and shot across a plain. The speed was now slowing down. Far too soon, she reached the end of the line.

Breathless, Katie allowed herself to be removed from the zip line. Afterwards, she turned to watch Haley and Marcus come done.

Haley stood beside Katie after she was released. "That was awesome!"

Katie nodded. " I know."  
A few seconds later, Marcus joined them. His face with pale and he was breathing hard.

Katie hugged him. "What did you think?"

Marcus was bent over with his hands on his knees. "I think I'm going to be sick."  
"That's the spirit!" Haley laughed.

**Yeah, I've never been zip lining and don't know what's it like. This is a video I watched while writing this chapter: watch?v=3r0pROzHY5M. **


	22. Chapter 22: Chalk Outline

Chapter Twenty-Two: Chalk Outline

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

It had been two weeks since Marcus had gone zip lining with Katie and Haley. A lot had not happened. He had not made any progress with Fairyland nor had he really tried to. The members of the Order were on his case about getting something done with the weapon. They had also been badgering him about getting information about the Death Eater's movements. The truth of the matter was that Natalia did not know anything new. He knew what was coming. Someone was going to be sent into the front lines of the Dark Side and it was probably going to be him.

Marcus sighed. Life just really sucked sometimes.

The sliding door in the dining area slammed open and shut. Marcus knew that he really needed to lock his doors at all time. If he locked them, that would mean that people would just make copies of his key.

"You need to come with me," Damon said as he entered the living area.

Marcus looked up at his friend. "Why?"

"I'm getting a tattoo."  
"And what does that have to do with me?"  
"You already have one." Damon sat down next to Marcus on the sofa. "And I need support before I talk myself out of it."  
Marcus really did not know where this came from. It was true that he had a tattoo on the lower right side of his stomach just below his pants line. It was for his uncle (his mum's first husband) who was killed during the last Dark War. But Damon getting one was a completely different story.

"Why do you want one?"

Damon shrugged. "It's for someone, like yours is."

Marcus nodded. He knew who it was for. Damon's father was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange when he was four years old. "Why are you asking me to go with you?"

Damon stared at the floor. "Because you understand what's it like to be marked for someone."

Marcus sighed. He had never meant his uncle. He had just gotten one because his half-brothers and father had one. "I never even met the guy who mine is for."

Damon nodded. "I know. You will just understand why I have to get one."

Marcus knew that he was not going to get out of this one. He really had nothing better to do today anyway. Fairyland could wait a little bit longer.

Marcus nods. "Okay, then."

Damon looked up at his friend. "Does that mean you will come with me?"  
"Yeah. Who knows I may even get one myself." Marcus picked his sweatshirt off the floor beside the sofa and pulled it over his head.

"You're joking right?" Damon asked as he stood up.

"Why?" Marcus asked as his head poked through the top of the sweatshirt.

Damon shook his head. "Nothing."  
"Why?"

"Does the League even let you have tattoos?"

"They just have to be covered during a game," Marcus said with a shrug.

"So anywhere underneath your uniform is game?"

Marcus nodded. He was not even sure why he was talking about getting another tattoo. With the threat of death in the air, it made him want to do one more reckless thing. He wanted to live for the moment now. He wanted to feel human before some sort of monster took over him.

Damon stood up and clapped his hands together. "Let's do this thing then."  
Marcus raised his eyebrow. Damon only acted like this if he was drunk or if his twin sister was home. Damon was the only male left in his close family (expect for his stepdad, who Damon did not have anything to do with) and sometimes the females tended to rub off on him. "Need to get away?"  
Damon nodded. "Yeah, I leave my mum's house and go home to get some peace and they follow me. It's like they are the freaking Scotland Yard with their tracking." He paused. "I'm like a comic book character who has not been coloured in. I'm a freaking chalk outline."  
Marcus really did not know how to respond to that one. He supposed that this was another one of those times that it was best not to ask.

Damon grabbed Marcus to Apparate. Marcus pulled away. He preferred to Apparate on his own. Side along always made him feel somewhat sick.

Damon shrugged. "Suit yourself." He disappeared.

Soon after, Marcus felt the familiar tug of Appartion in his middle. He and Apparting got along as well as he did with heights. He preferred to drive or fly.

Marcus arriving gasping outside a tattoo parlour in Diagon Alley a few minutes later. With most of the alley shut down, he was surprised to see this place still open. He quickly scanned the rest of the alley. What had been bright and open six months ago, now looked like some sort of ghost town. The few people on the streets kept their head towards the ground and walked a brisk pace. A few people shot him and Damon nervous looks. Not one trusted anyone anymore and it was going to get a lot worse.

Damon was watching the people too. "Let's go in," he said in a low voice. His tone was completely different than what it was a few minutes ago. "The sooner we get off the streets the better."

Marcus nodded. He could not argue that one. Standing here made them subject to Death Eater attacks. He supposed that they were probably a little safer than most considering that they were both former Slytherins, but their families fought on the opposite side.

The two young men entered the shop. Besides the aging tattoo artist, they were the only ones in the shop. The walls of the shop were covered in the various tattoos that the shop had to offer. Spaced freely around the shop was various miss matched chairs. Outdated magazines littered two small tables in the southern corner.

"Can I help you?" the tattoo artist inquired. His eyes shifted between the two of them and finally rested on Marcus. "I know who you are."

Marcus did not know what to say.

"You're a Chaser for the Falmouth Falcons," the tattoo artist quickly said. "I haven't missed a game in ten years. How's the season going to be this year?"  
Marcus hated it whenever people asked him questions like that. Reponses from team members tended to give people false hope. "Hopefully good."  
The tattoo artist nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "I just bought my season tickets yesterday. I'm really looking forward to the United game. That is a always a good show."

It was one of Marcus's favourites as well. The Falcons had defeated United in every game for the last five years. "Me good."

"Glad to hear it." The tattoo artist paused. "Now, what can I do for you?"

Damon cleared his throat. "I want to get a memorial."

The tattoo artist nodded slowly. "Do want a design or just a name?"

"Name."

"Do you mind me asking who it's for?"  
Damon looked at the ground. "My dad."

"Sorry, son." The tattoo artist shook his head. "I always hate to hear whenever young people lose a parent."

"It's fine," Damon muttered. "It was a long time ago."

"That makes it even worse."

Damon nodded.

"So, you just want a name in fancy writing?" the tattoo artist asked quickly.

"Yeah."

"Where at?"

Damon looked at Marcus. He clearly had not thought that one through.

Marcus shrugged. He really did not know what to tell Damon.

"Do you have to have it covered for work or anything?" the tattoo artist inquired.

"It might be best."

"I can tell you want most people in your age group do. They either get it on their stomachs, chests, or backs."

Damon bit his lip. "I kind of want to be able to see it." He paused. "My chest."  
"Are you sure?"

Damon nodded.

The tattoo artist motioned for Damon to come back. Marcus started toward the chairs. He did not make it very far before Damon intercepted him and pulled him back into the room.

The tattoo artist looked up for his tools as they entered. "Emotional support?"

Damon shook his head. "He's my way home and I don't want him sneaking off."

Marcus looked at his friend. Clearly, there was some trust issues going on. "Would I do that?"

"Yes," Damon replied without any doubt as he pulled his shirt off.

The tattoo artist motioned for Damon to lay down on the table in front of them. Damon stared up at Marcus from the table. Marcus found that when people stared at him to be rather disturbing. The tattoo artist began to disinfect the skin right over his heart. A few seconds later, the man went to work.

Marcus stared at the walls. Like the main room, this room was covered in various tattoo designs. He never realized how many different designs there were. He did not understand why people wanted someone of them to be inked unto them. For example, who wanted a clown on them? Sometimes he just really did not understand people.

One of the best things about getting a tattoo in the magical world was that tattoo did not take very long. Within fifteen minutes, Damon's tattoo was done. Damon sat up slowly and pulled his shirt on.

"What about you?" the tattoo artist asked Marcus.

Marcus was not sure about this.

"Don't be a chalk outline who has been left out to be washed away in the rain," Damon whispered.

Marcus stared up at the wall. One had been catching his attention. "What have to got to lose?"

The tattoo artist nodded. "That's what I thought."  
He pointed to an ink on the wall. "That one and I want it on my right shoulder." Marcus pulled off his shirt and laid down on his stomach. No, he was not going to allow himself to be washed away.


	23. Chapter 23: I Don't Want to Be

Chapter Twenty-Three: I Don't Want To Be

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie stepped into the Gryffindor common room. She had just finished breakfast with what was left of friends and was now going to enjoy a free period. Despite most of her friends graduating Hogwarts last year, she was not alone. That surprised her really considering she had not really talked to anyone besides Angelina, Fred, George, and Alicia. Leanne was still at Hogwarts. She thought that people really did not like her, but today had proved that theory wrong. Leanne claimed that now that Angelina, Fred, George, and Alicia were gone that people in their own year needed some attention. Katie really did not have the heart to protest her.

Katie went over to where some of her fellow seventh year Gryffindors were sitting. A few of them were dating each other and it made her heart sort of break. When she and Marcus had been together at Hogwarts, they could not hang out in the common rooms. Not only were they in separate houses, he was three years ahead of her. Their curfews would not had matched up.

"Hey, Katie!" Lisa Jefferson exclaimed when she saw Katie.

"Hey," Katie said back. She really did not know Lisa.

Lisa pushed a boy off the seat next to her. The boy, who Katie thought was called Alex, landed on the floor with a thud and swore.

Lisa looked down at him. "Oh, grow up!"

Alex looked up at her from the floor. "You pushed me off my seat!"  
Lisa batted her long eye lashes. "You are supposed to be a gentleman and offer your seat up to a lady."  
Alex glared. "Maybe I'm not a gentleman."

"And that's why I pushed you off the chair." Lisa turned her attention to Katie. "Have a seat."

Katie sat down in what had been Alex's chair without protest. She really wanted to see where this argument would go.

Alex did not get off of the floor. "You're not a lady," he said to Lisa.

Lisa stroked her blond hair. "Nope, I surpassed ladyship and went right to princess."

Alex snorted. "Yeah, right."

Lisa looked at Katie. "Tell him."

Katie bit her lip. "Tell him what?"

"That it is the proper for a member of the male gender to give up his seat to a female," Lisa stated.

"Well, it is," Katie supplied.

Alex gave them both looks. "Is this pick on Alex day?"

"Yes," Lisa said. "It's a national holiday."

Katie laughed. "We could make it an international holiday."  
Lisa got a thought for look on her face. "Yeah, I think that would be great idea." She poked Alex in the ribs. "What do you say?"

Alex made a face. "I think that is a horrid idea!"

"Katie and I don't," Lisa stated.

"Then, you two are very evil people."  
Lisa shook her head. "Nah."

Katie turned away from them briefly. Harry and Ron were just stepping into the common room. Harry had a Quidditch Captain badge pinned to his sweater. Katie frowned slightly. Sure she was happy that Harry had gotten it, but was also a little hurt that he had been chosen over her. She had been on the team longer. She knew that time did not matter when captains were chosen. Besides, she didn't even know if she wanted to play Quidditch anymore. Just the thought of Harry being chosen over her hurt a bit. Really, who could compete with Harry Potter? He seemed to be everyone's favourite.

Lisa and Alex stopped bickering when they saw the badge on Harry's chest.

"That should have been you," Alex muttered to Katie.

Katie smiled at him. "It's fine."

"No, it's not. Just because he defeated You-Know-Who as a baby does not give him the right to get everything he wants," Alex said in a low voice.

Lisa was looking back and forth between them. "Alex," she said in a warning voice.

"Well, it's the truth," Alex pressed.

Katie really did not know what to say. She felt honoured that Alex was standing up for her. At the same time, she wondered if it really mattered. However, she could not help but wonder if other people felt the same way. Still, she needed to put on a happy face.

"I thought you'd get that, well done," she called over, pointing at the Captain's badge on Harry's chest. "Tell me when you call trials!" 

"Don't be stupid," Harry said, "you don't need to try out, I've watched you play for five years..."

"You mustn't start off like that," she said warningly. "For all you know, there's someone much better than me out there. Good teams have been ruined before now because Captains just kept playing old faces or letting in their friends..." 

Ron looked a little uncomfortable. (Rowling, page 176) 

Katie watched as they disappeared up the stairs to go to their dormitory. When she turned to Lisa and Alex, she saw that she was getting icy stares.

"What was that?" Alex asked slowly.

"What?"

"For all you know, there's someone much better than me out there. Good teams have been ruined before now because Captains just kept playing old faces or letting in their friends..." Alex said mocking Katie.

"What about it?"

"If you don't get on the team, somebody please kill me," Alex grumbled. "The Slytherins don't even kick old faces off. They only time they do is if someone can never play again."

Katie knew that he was referring to Terrance Higgs who had been severely injured during a summer league game a few years ago. She really did not know the details, but knew that Higgs would never fly again.

"He can't play favourites," Katie objected. She was not really sure why she was defending Harry.

"No, but I bet he will let that idiot Weasley on the team," Alex snapped. "Tell me that's not playing favourites! There are a lot of damn good Keepers out there who will not make the team because freaking Harry Potter's best friend wants to be on the team!"  
Katie and Lisa exchanged looks. Neither of them was not quite sure of what to say.

"When he starts, it is best just to let him go," Lisa mused staring at the wall.

Alex rounded on her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that once you start ranting that it does no good to try and stop you," Lisa said in a tone that a primary school teacher would use.

Alex made a rude gesture toward her.

Katie tried not to laugh. She wondered if these two would start dating. They were flirting heavy with each other. They was probably an example of two people who were supposed to be together and everyone else saw it but them.

"Good thing your mum's not here," Lisa replied. "I bet you would be getting in some major trouble if she was."

Alex stuck his tongue out at her. "She's not and I can do whatever I want to." He climbed on top of the table. "Look, I'm climbing on the furniture."

Katie shook her head and rolled her eyes. Sometimes boys could be really immature, but they were funny while doing so. She supposed that made up for it.

Lisa crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to look angry. "Alexander!"

"Uh-oh, you got called Alexander," Katie said to Alex.

"We're not the three names yet, so it's all good," Alex reassured her.

"Whatever you say," Katie said.

Alex started to dance on the table. "Dancing on the table. Dancing on the table," he sang as a danced back and forth across the table. "I'm dancing on the table while getting dirty looks from Lisa."

"I hope you have other career choices besides being a singer," Lisa called up to him.

Alex was still dancing. "Always a dream breaker." He was dancing the right. "You sure know how to crush a guy's heart."  
Katie noticed that he was getting awfully close to the edge of the table.

"And that's probably why you never get a date." His voice rose as he slipped off the table and landed flat on his back on the floor.

"And I'm not helping you up," Lisa said as she looked over him.

"Ah, come on, babe," Alex whined.

"Should've thought about that before you insulted me."

"Katie?" Alex asked turning his attention to her.

Katie just shrugged her shoulders. "You're on your own for this one."

"Ah, come on!"  
"I can't get you out of the doghouse."

"Can you at least help make my stay there a little shorter?" Alex begged her.

Katie shook her head. "You put yourself there, you can get yourself out."  
Alex frowned and looked up at Lisa. "I suppose that a puppy dog face wouldn't help either?"

Lisa shook her head. "Not even close."  
Alex wrapped his arms around Lisa's legs. "Does this help any?" he asked blinking up at her.

Lisa shook her head. "The puppy dog would have worked better."

"What about if I told you that I don't want to be anyone else but me?" Alex inquired.

"Staying true to yourself is what got in you into to trouble in the first place, Alexander," Lisa informed him.

"Katie?" Alex asked turning his attention back to Katie.

"I told you before that it wouldn't work with me," Katie said smirking.

"You two are just evil," Alex snapped in a playful manor. "You are just plain evil."

Lisa pulled Alex off of her. "Wouldn't have it any other way." She paused. "Besides, you won't love us if we were nice to you."

"We'll see about that one," Alex scoffed as he climbed up off the floor.

"You know you love me," Lisa said as she picked her schoolbag off the floor. "We need to go to Charms."

"And?" Alex asked.

Katie picked up her own bag without saying a word.

"And I really don't want to be late on the first day of our last year," Lisa said.

"And?" Alex asked again.

"And if you don't shut up, I'm going to throw you out the window," Lisa snapped as she started toward the exit.

Katie followed Lisa's heals.

Alex drug his bag behind him as he raced after the girls. "Please tell me that was a joke?"  
Lisa did not look back out him. "And what if it wasn't?"

From behind her, Katie heard Alex gulp.

A few minutes later, Leanne slide into the seat next to Katie in the Charms room. Leanne had Divination during the lesson hour. Katie really did not understand why anyone wanted to take that class.

"How was Divination?" Katie said.

Leanne nodded. "I have Firenze." She paused. "How was your free period?"

Lisa and Alex were still fighting.

"Interesting." That was all Katie could say about it.


	24. Chapter 24: I'm So Sick

Chapter Twenty-Four: I'm So Sick

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

Marcus knew that there was no getting out of working on Fairyland anymore. He had put it off for too long as it was. He sat on his sofa in the living area and stared down at the documents. He still had no idea how he was going to pull this one off. He could not rely on Haley and Katie to help him because they were back at Hogwarts. He figured that the Order would not like it too much if he waited until their break.

The job was just too big for one person.

He took his eyes off the documents and stared at the hardwood floor. He was so sick of the Order's hiding everything anyway. It was time for them to call in the troops. If the Order, did not want to do it, then he would.

The fight was going to get ugly and the more people that the Order had on their side, the better. He would be careful about who he called in anyway. It's not like he would alert the freaking Dark Side. He just wanted and needed a little help with this project. None of the Order members were going to help him anyway.

He pulled out his mobile and sent the same text message to eight different people. Out of all of his friends, he thought that they were the most trustworthy. Expect for two of them, their families were not really involved in the Dark War or wizard politics. They were probably the last people to be checked for helping the Order. It was risky, but Marcus knew that his friends would take the risk. He hated to ask this of them, but knew that there was really no other choice.

He laid down on the sofa with his mobile resting on his stomach. Now it was just a big waiting game.

He closed his eyes and soon much needed sleep swept over him. A full night's sleep was such a luxury to him. With Quidditch starting next week, he needed all the rest he could get.

Half an hour later, his mobile buzzed. Without sitting up, he picked it up off his stomach and read the message. Within the next five minutes, all had answered and all were willing to help in whatever way they could. Operation save Fairyland had a bright future ahead of it. They agreed to meet tonight around seven.

Marcus placed his mobile on the coffee table and rolled over onto his side so that he was facing the back of the sofa. There was no since in wasting good sleep time.

**To his left, two people were whispering. They looked familiar, so he just assumed that they were wizards. **

** "It's getting stronger," one hissed. **

** The other rolled his eyes. "If you want to run, do it. I'm staying. Only the strongest will survive and lead. The weak will run and hide while the strong save them all."**

** "The wind will blow me away then."**

** "It most certainly will."**

** Marcus walked away. He played no mind to the words. After all, Haley was right about something. He was going to meet Katie. **

**Another Day...**

** Marcus looked at Katie. "Does that satisfy you?"**

** Katie thought about his answer. "In a way, it does." She paused. "I just want you to do something that you want to do. I don't want to see you do something just because your parents want you to."**

** Marcus sat back against the couch. He was always trying to stay close to his parents. They had not been around much during his child and teenage years. He had been raised pretty much by house elves and the hired help. His older stepbrothers had moved out after graduating from Hogwarts and his father's daughter rarely came around. He had only met her a couple of times. His mum's parents just gave him a lot of money and his dad's were not really in the picture. **

** Since the Dark Lord had returned, they had wanted more to do with. Joining the Order was a risk he was willing to take. It was not only for his family, but he felt that it was the right thing to do. It felt like it was one of those things that he had to do. **

** "Marcus?" Katie waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello, earth to Marcus."**

** Marcus grabbed her hand and put it in his lap. "Maybe I'm doing it to prove a point." **

** Katie looked at him. She had no idea that a group such as the Order existed. "What's that?" She was confused. "I thought you just said that you did not want to get involved." **

** Marcus looked up at her. "I don't."**

** "Then, what is the point to whatever it is that you are doing?"**

** "That I do not fit the Slytherin stereotype." **

** "I never thought you did."**

Marcus rolled over in his sleep and fell right off the sofa. He hit the floor hard and cracked his chin off the coffee table. Slowly, he climbed to his feet swearing. He had meant to move that stupid thing over but had never gotten around to it. He put his hand to his chin and when he removed hhis hand he saw that it was covered in blood.

He stormed into the downstairs bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, he grabbed a towel and held it to his face. Swearing, he reached into his back jeans pocket for his wand. He let out a swing of Italian curses when he realized he had left his wand upstairs on his night table.

He stumbled up the stairs and grabbed his wand from his room. Then, he walked very drunkly into the on suite bathroom and mended his chin. It was not as good as job as a Healer could do, but at least he was no longer bleeding.

Marcus washed the blood off his face and pulled his T-shirt off. He padded back into his room and put on a somewhat clean shirt and threw his wand back on the bed. He then made his way back downstairs.

At the foot of the stairs, he crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the coffee table in question. The thing seemed to be taunting him, daring him to move it. It was just begging him to bring it on. He was sick of its' games. He could break into the coffee table's thoughts and move the damn thing. He was really going to do it.

No, he did not feel stupid for having a stare down with a piece of furniture.

Marcus went over the coffee table and shoved it into a corner on the far side of the room where he could not see it. The coffee table did not stand a chance against him.

Marcus smirked at the coffee table as he walked back over to his sofa. That was when he noticed the blood on the floor. He swore and stomped into the kitchen. There in the kitchen, he grabbed a white towel off the sink.

He threw it down the blood and wiped it up. Once he had the blood wiped up, he threw in beside the overfilling hamper. He guessed that he needed to do laundry. He still had clothes upstairs, so there was no rush.

Marcus went back into the living room. He figured that he supposed help would be here soon. Some would arrive on time and others would arrive later than necessary. He supposed that he should count his lucky stars that they were even coming at all.

He sunk back down onto the sofa. The blood was gone and the evil coffee table was out of sight. Now, all he had to do was sit back and wait for his mates and for the bruising on his chin to go down. Nothing could go wrong if he was just sitting on the sofa.

Marcus did not move for twenty minutes. He did not even move when a bird hit the window. He was not going to move. He just hoped that someone showed up at seven o'clock so that way he could move. He hoped that it was just one person too so that way he did not have to explain why he wasn't moving.

He just hoped that he got all of the blood cleaned up.

Damon was the first to arrive. It made sense that he would arrive first because he lived in the house closest to Marcus. Alyssa Masstive, who had been in Marcus's year, but in Ravenclaw arrived next. Alyssa was followed by Melissa and Peter Long, a year older than Marcus. Melissa was six months pregnant. They were followed by Chris Derrick and Alex Greenbrier, who were both former Slytherins . Collin Haynes came next, who had also been in Marcus's year but was in Gryffindor. Molly McKinnon finished out the group.

Alyssa went over to Marcus and poked him in the side. "You know that it's not polite not to offer your guests a seat." She flopped down on the sofa next to him.

"I just figured that you would make yourself at home anyway," Marcus commented back.

The rest of them sat down.

Alyssa nodded. "You know us to well?" She turned to Melissa who was sitting in a rocking chair by a window. "So, how's the baby?"

Melissa nodded. " Good, though I can't wait to back into my regular clothes."

Alyssa nodded. Marcus knew that she probably wanted some sort of medically type of answer. Alyssa was training to be a Healer.

"So, how has everybody's life been?" Alyssa inquired.

The rest nodded and made comments about how good everything was.

After they were done, Alyssa nodded. "Glad to hear it."

"Are we just going to keep making useless small talk or are we actually going to get to the point?" Damon snapped.

"Well, someone's moody," Molly said smirking.

"Just a little bit," Alex countered. "He's just jealous about not being as good as looking as the rest of us."

"Well, someone does have to be the ugly duckling of the group," Collin said.

Alex nodded. "And it's sure as hell not me."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Alex looked at Damon. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"How about we get the point of why you are here?" Marcus interjected.

Damon nodded. "That sounds like a great plan."

"So, why are we here?" Peter asked.

Marcus stood and got the documents off the dining room table. "I need help with this," he said as he spread them out on the living room floor.

Damon knelt down next to them and studied it. "They look like some kind of weapon." He looked back up at Marcus. "What are you doing with directions to build a Muggle weapon?"

The rest of the group came over and joined them.

"It's a long range weapon that would get rid of wand to wand fighting," Marcus stated. "It did a lot of damage to the Dark Side during the last Dark War."

"There's not as many deaths," Molly said slowly.

Marcus nodded. "The only problem is that the things are in pieces."  
"And where are they?" Damon asked.

Marcus had not told anyone the location of the weapons until now. Even the Order did not know where they were. "In my mum's family summer estate in Wales."

Alyssa clapped her hands. "Excellent, I've always wanted to go to the Randolph's."

The Randolph family was an old wizard family. They had a lot of power and wealth. Marcus's grandfather, Jonathan Randolph, had been Minister of Magic during the last Dark War and was a fierce destroyer of anything that had to do with the Dark Arts. He had retired a few years ago.

"When do we start?" Peter asked.

"Now," Marcus said.


	25. Chapter 25: Heaven's A Lie

Chapter Twenty-Five: Heaven's A Lie

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

Katie sunk down onto a bench in the Hogwarts courtyard. Things were very strange this year. No one seemed to stay out of the common rooms more than necessary. Katie had been heading back to the Gryffindor common room, but decided against it. She wanted to enjoy one of the few last remaining nice days. Winter would be upon them soon.

Over the last few weeks, a number of students had disappeared from school. Though the numbers weren't large, it was still noticeable. She figured that parents were fleeing the country or thought that they were safer at home. She was just glad that her dad and Jenna had not thought about that. Maybe they thought that Katie and her sisters were safer at Hogwarts than they were at home.

She stared up at the gray sky. No Death Eaters flying through the air. People were probably just overreacting. She supposed that it was this moment of peace was like the eye of the hurricane with the worse to come.

Katie knew that the worse was to come tonight. Tonight was Quidditch tryouts.

She was kicking herself hard for volunteering to tryout again this year. Why did she do that and risk her spot? She could have had the night off. Why did she have to be such a stupid person? As she got older, things came out of her mouth before she thought them completely out. It seemed to happen the most when she was around Harry.

She did not hate Harry, but there was just something about him that got under her skin. It was just like saying heaven's a lie to someone. He just bothered her sometimes, she guessed. People always felt bad for Harry and whatnot, but she knew that there were people who were a lot worse off than he was. He had friends and people who would die to protect him, many people did not have that. She thought that Harry was blessed more than he realized.

She supposed that she really just did not get people.

Katie got up off the bench and tugged back to the common room. She had to get ready for tryouts anyway. Even though she was conflicted about Quidditch, she just hoped that she got her Chaser position back. It was her final year at Hogwarts and she wanted to leave with a bang.

But not like Fred and George's bang.

She was thinking about something with a little less explosives and a little less bang. She guessed that she would just settle for Quidditch.

Leanne was in their dorm when Katie reached it. She looked up from the book she was reading and rolled onto her back.

Katie smiled at her as she set her stuff down on her bed.

Leanne pulled herself up to a sitting position. "Doing anything interesting?"

Katie kneeled down in front of her trunk. "Getting ready for tryouts."  
Leanne flipped her hair. "So, you really are trying out again?"  
Katie found her Quidditch robes and pulled them out of the trunk. "That's the plan."

"Are you stupid? Why!" Leanne exclaimed.

Katie pulled her sweater out of her trunk next. "It just kind of came out before I thought about it."

Leanne climbed down off her bed. "Why?"

Katie through the robes and sweater on her bed. "You don't need to jump all over me. Alex already took care of that for you."  
Leanne frowned. "He clearly did not do a very good job on it."

Katie pulled her pads and gloves out of her trunk's side pocket. They were brand spanking new, thanks to Marcus's account at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Sometimes it paid to have a professional Quidditch player for a boyfriend.

Katie felt something hard hit her. "Ow!" She looked over and saw Leanne's book laying on the floor next to her. "That hurt."

"Oh, suck it up," Leanne said. "It's not like I hit you that hard anyway."  
Katie rolled her eyes. "Violence is not the answer."  
"Well, neither is trying out for a team that you have been a part of for years and a team that you should have been captain for!" Leanne snapped.

Katie did not know what the big deal was. It was one for Katie herself to feel a certain way, but for others to feel the same way and snap at her for it was completely different. She wished that people would just take a chill pill. Their constant bombing at her was getting old. She just wished that they would back off for three seconds.

But she bit her tongue and chose to remain silent.

Leanne crossed her arms over her chest. "I just think that the entire thing is messed up. It's not fair to you."  
"If I had gotten Capitan, people would probably think that it was because of Marcus," Katie said. It was the best defence that she could come up.

"Why on Earth would people think that?" Leanne exclaimed.

"He's a pro and they would think that he pulled strings to get me in," Katie replied as she stood up.

"If he did any string pulling, it would be for Slytherin," Leanne muttered.

"But most people won't see it that way," Katie said. She hoped that she was doing a good job at faking this.

Leanne nodded slowly. "Does he have anything to do with this year's team? Didn't his friends leave last year?"  
Katie shrugged. " I really don't know." Of course she did. Marcus did not even know who the captain was.

Leanne sighed. "I just don't think it's fair," she said slowly.

Katie wondered how many more times people was going to say that. "Life's not fair."  
Leanne closed her eyes. "Yeah, I know."

Katie twirled the ring on her finger. Marcus had gotten it for her a few years ago.

"So, did you ever determine if that was promise ring or not?" Leanne asked out of the blue.

Katie threw down her sweater on the bed. "Now, where on earth did that come from?"

"Didn't we talk about that?" Leanne inquired. A thoughtful look her face. "I thought we did."

"No, I believe you are mistaken," Katie said as she thought back to that day.

** Katie rolled over and stared into the soft flames of the fire. Christmas was here. She climbed out of bed and looked at the stack of presents at the foot of it. They looked so pretty in their lovely wrapping. She did not want to ruin it. On her right, Leanne began to move. **

** "Merry Christmas," Leanne whispered to Katie. **

** "Merry Christmas."**

** Leanne sat up and looked at her own mound of presents and jumped out of bed. She was more awake then she ever had been. "PRESENTS!" She began to tear into them.**

** Katie turned back to her own pile. She picked the one up from Marcus and opened it. After nearly two years of dating, she still did not know what to expect from him. She opened it and saw that he had gotten her the new Chaser gloves that she wanted. She smiled and tried them on. They fit wonderfully on her. A smaller package fall out of the wrapping. She bent down and carefully picked it up. **

** Leanne's head shot up. "What is it?"**

** Katie stared at the package. "Who knows? It's from Marcus."**

** Leanne raised her eyebrows suggestively. **

** Katie threw wrapping paper at her. "You're sick."**

** Leanne shrugged. "You never know."**

** Katie turned her attention back to the package. He would not think about that, would he? Great, now Leanne had her thinking provocative thoughts. She took a deep breath and opened the package. **

** Leanne leaned over her shoulder and swore quite loudly once the contents were revealed. "That was not cheap."**

** Katie stared down at the object in her lap. It was a purple stone on a gold band. It was the ring that she had been wanting. She could not believe that he had gotten her that, let alone that he remembered she wanted it. "It's my ring," she whispered.**

** "The one you always talked about?" Leanne inquired.**

** Katie nodded. "I can't believe her remembered."**

** "Well, it is Christmas and miracles do happen."**

** Katie slid the ring on and stared at it. Maybe this was her Christmas miracle.**

** Either that or he just wanted a heated make-out session.**

"Well, if we didn't, we need to," Leanne stated.

Katie just rolled her eyes. She really needed to get to tryouts. "Maybe later we can attempt to read Marcus's mind."

"Oh, scary," Leanne said. Her eyes got big.

All Katie could do was laugh.

An hour later, Katie stood on the Quidditch pitch gripping her broom. A lot of people had turned out for tryouts. It kind of surprised her a first, but then she looked the Quidditch hopefuls very closely. A lot of them were Harry Potter fan girls. She shook her head. It was not going to be a hellish tryout but it probably was not going to be heaven. People's definition of heaven tended to be a lie anyway. This should be piece of cake.

Ginny Weasley was her only real competition if she was going on past experiences. Katie thought that she could live with Ginny as a teammate.

Harry lingered next Katie. He seemed to eyeing someone. Katie really did not know who it could be.

We met on the train, in old Sluggy's compartment," he said confidently, stepping out of the crowd to shake Harry's hand. (Rowling 223) 

Katie tried not to wince as he stepped on her foot as he pushed by her. She hoped that this guy did not get a spot on the team.

"Cormac McLaggen, Keeper." (Rowling 223) 

Katie hoped that there was someone better suited for Keeper out there. Anyone had to be better. Judging by the look on Harry's face, she thought that he did as well.

"You didn't try out last year, did you?" asked Harry, taking note of the breadth of McLaggen and thinking that he would probably block all three hoops without even moving. 

"I was in the hospital wing when they held the trials," said McLaggen, with something of a swagger. "Ate a pound of doxy eggs for a bet." (Rowling 223) 

Katie tried not to gag. Why were boys so gross? Most importantly why were guys so stupid and bragged about being stupid? She had yet to find a member of the female gender who had the answers to these question. If there was such a female, then she would be the wealthiest person in the world. She would had figured out how the male mind operates.

"Right," said Harry. "Well...if you wait over there." (Rowling 223) 

McLaggen frowned as he was ordered to the sidelines. Katie could not help but smirk. She was glad that Harry was not going to take any crap from anyone.

Harry blew his whistle. "Alright!" he said over the crowd as they quieted down. "Let's get to work! We have a lot to get done today. So break up into groups of ten based on what you are trying out for."

Katie joined a bunch of giggling girls, who turned bright red every time Harry looked over at them. She had this in the bag.


	26. Chapter 26: World of Glass

Chapter Twenty-Six: World of Glass

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus gathered up the documents. He was pleased to see that his friends are following his movements. He's not sure if they want to help him or if they just want to see his grandparents' home.

He really did not understand what the big deal was about the Randolph estate. It was more castle like than anything. The Gothic hallways and paintings of dead people on the wall always freaked him out a bit. Then there was the smallness of some of the rooms. The rooms low ceilings had just the right touch to bring the claustrophobia out of people. (It really did not help that he was borderline claustrophobia himself.) Other than that, he supposed that it was a nice place. He probably did not see what the big deal about it was because he had grown up around it.

Whatever...If acting as a tour guide got him help with Operation Save Fairyland, then he would be a tour guide for a couple of hours. Maybe more like a couple of seconds. He did not want to push it.

Marcus knew where the remainder of the weapons were stockpiled at as well. They were in the most original place: the estate's dungeon. (Yes, it had a dungeon, but no moats) The thing about having Fairyland in an obvious place was that no one thought to look there. The weapons had remained untouched for years and the few people who knew its' whereabouts had not breathed a word.

Talk about secretively...

"Ready whenever you are," Molly said.

Marcus nodded and stepped into the fireplace. One could not just simply Apparate in and out of the Randolph Estate. Floo Powder only worked if your fireplace was connected to one at the Randolph's. Jonathan Randolph did not take to kindly to trespassers. Even though Marcus got along fine with his grandfather, he was still afraid that he would get his head taken off the moment he stepped out of the fireplace.

It would be all good once Jonathan Randolph realized who Marcus was or at least Marcus hoped it would be. Years of fighting the Dark Side had done things to old Randolph's mind; he could be very mental sometimes.

The rest of Marcus's friends followed behind him. Their faces shone with eagerness. Marcus only hoped that they would not be too disappointed. Most importantly, he hoped that his grandfather would not threaten them with certain death.

Marcus stepped out of the fireplace and into the grand kitchen of the Randolph Estate. His friends stepped out behind him.

House elves were buzzing around. A few of them chanced a glance at Marcus and his friends. Their eyes narrowed when they saw Marcus's friends, but then realized he was with them and returned back to their work.

Marcus pushed his friends out of the kitchen and into a hall. Maybe he should have aimed for the library. It would had spared them glares. Plus the key to the dungeons was in the library.

Melissa was staring up at the tall ceilings. "I bet this place is a pain to heat in the winter."

Marcus nodded. "It's always drafty here."

"I bet," Melissa replied.

Marcus lead the way up the main stairs. His grandparents wanted the family to use the back stairs instead of the main ones. The main stairs were supposed to be for guests only. He really did not understand why. Besides, there was no one special here today and he did have guests with him.

He led them into the library and finished the keys out of his grandfather's desk. After that, it was time to head to the dungeons and to Fairyland. The name of the weapon still made him want to laugh.

Marcus led his friends through the twisting of the Randolph Estate. The castle had been built to confuse any intruders and it had done its' job well many times. From the outside, the castle looked like it would be easy to break into. However, it was not. It was similar to a world of glass. People inside the castle could see people sneaking up them, but the intruders could not see inside. Some form of old magic provided the protection.

They almost reached the dungeons before they were stopped. Really, Marcus was surprised that they had made it this far.

Jonathan Randolph glared up at Marcus. Marcus stood about half a metre over his grandfather. "And to what do I owe this pleasure for?" Jonathan asked with his deep, slow voice.

Marcus really was not sure how to answer this one. "To save something," he said.

Jonathan raised his eyebrow. "Such as?"

Marcus really did not want to put out too much information in front of his friends. Plus, his grandfather scared him sometimes. "Fairyland," he muttered.

"What's that? I can't hear you." Jonathan demanded that people speak loudly whenever they spoke to him. He believed that a weak voice made a person weak. Marcus did not want to appear weak before his grandfather.

"Operation Fairyland," Marcus said in a loud voice.

Jonathan nodded slowly. "I was wondering when they would send someone after it," he mused. "I didn't think it would be you though."

Marcus nodded. He still couldn't believe that he had been forced into this mess either.

"I thought that your parents would have kept you out of this."

"It just sort of happened.

Jonathan nodded and said nothing more.

Marcus was not sure if that met he was dismissed or not. Unsure of what to do, he just stood there for a few minutes.

Jonathan cleared his throat. "I need to show you where it's at, then."

Marcus nodded. He hadn't thought about that one. The dungeons were massive and twisting. Unless you knew where you were going, you wouldn't find anything. Marcus had no idea where Fairyland was in the dungeons. He had just overheard his grandfather talking about it.

"You weren't just thinking of wondering around down there until you found it, were you?" Jonathan asked.

Marcus did not answer. He felt really stupid whenever people pointed out details he missed.

Jonathan smiled and shook his head. "On second thought, don't answer that." He moved toward the dungeon and paused. "Well are you going to unlock it?"

Marcus moved forward and unlocked the door.

Marcus let his friends move in front of him. He followed in step behind the rest of the pack.

The temperature changed as they went further down into the dungeon. Marcus was not sure how far down Fairyland was. He was guessing that it was pretty deep. After all, the best secrets were always buried the deepest. Marcus also saw another potential problem. Unless there was some sort of lift down here, getting Fairyland out was going to be a major problem.

Damon feel in step with Marcus. "Your grandfather kind of freaks me out."

Marcus nodded. "He's actually calm today."

Damon paused. "What's he like when he's not?"

"Remember that summer when I got arrested and how my dad took it?" Marcus asked.

Damon nodded.

"He makes that look mild."

Damon looked awed. "I see now. Good luck with that."

Marcus nodded. "Mostly I just stay away from him when he's like that."

Damon suppressed a laugh. "That is a really smart move."

"That's what I thought," Marcus laughed. His laugh earned him an evil glare from his grandfather.

Deeper and deeper they went into the dungeon making so many turns that Marcus's head began to spin. There was no way that he would had found this on his own.

Jonathon stopped outside the second to last door and held his hand out. "Keys."

Marcus reached into his jeans pocket, pulled out the keys, and handed them to his grandfather.

Jonathon picked out a rather shiny and new looking key. Marcus supposed that anyone who wished to break into the dungeons would be looking for an old key, not a new one. Jonathon placed the key into the lock and turned it. The locked clicked free without any difficulty and the door swung open.

Jonathon stepped to the side and moved his hand in a dramatic way. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Fairyland."

Marcus and his friends looked in the door. It was almost impossible to see. What Marcus could make out was nothing but a pile of ruins. This was going to be fun.

Jonathon gently pushed Marcus forward. Though it was not a hard push, it still caught Marcus off guard. "You're not getting anything done by standing there and looking at it. Time is not on your side and I suggest you get moving on it."

Marcus watched as his friends filled in behind him. Up close, Fairyland looked even worse. He could not make heads or tails of it. They were going to have to start from the beginning.

Jonathon lit a lantern and stuck it on a peg on the southern wall. "I will leave you to it." He started toward the door. "I marked our path. I trust you will be able to follow a simple path."

Marcus nodded, but did not take his eyes off the mess deemed Fairyland. He only hoped that they could save this thing. Once it was in working order, it would be a rock falling through a world of glass. It could save them all.

"Very well, then," Jonathon said as he took his leave.

"Where do we start?" Damon asked as he looked at the mess at his feet.

Marcus picked up a piece of Fairyland and studied it. "From the beginning."

**So, um, yeah...The next two Marcus chapters are going to focus on a couple of different things. Number One: Fairyland. Number Two: Remember how Marcus's parents didn't want him involved in the Order, yeah that's going be a factor in what is yet to come. Number Three: Two certain someone's are going to drive him insane...Wonder who that could be? **


	27. Chapter 27: I Walk Forever

Chapter Twenty-Seven: I Walk Forever

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie waited until it was her group's turn to go. So far, no one had made the cut. If Harry had put any of them on the team, she just would have walked right off the field and not even bothered to tryout. Yes, they were that bad. Some of them could not even stay on the broom for thirty seconds.

Then, there was the ones who were not even in Gryffindor House. She wondered if they really thought that they had a chance of making the team.

The group of front of Katie mounted their brooms and kicked off. At first glance, it looked like this group might actually make the team. They had really good form, but there was a slight problem. A Chaser had to be able to take their hands off the broom, catch the Quaffle, and throw it. No one in this group had this said skills. Good flyers, good Quidditch players not so much.

Katie sucked in air as the group landed.

Harry motioned for Katie's group to take to the sky.

The girls around Katie giggled. She rolled her eyes. Were they here to tryout or to stare at Harry? She did not even know why they had such a huge crush on Harry anyway. He wasn't even that good looking. It was probably the same reason that other girls were attracted to Marcus: power. Of course, Marcus did not have same power as Harry, but Marcus was wealthy.

Katie mounted her broom and kicked off. It felt so good to be in the air again. She was free. Harry tossed the Quaffle to her and so took off toward the goals, flying with ease. About halfway down the pitch she passed it to one of the giggling girls, who dropped it. Katie swooped around her and grabbed the Quaffle before it hit the ground.

Katie dived back up and scattered a group of the giggling girls. As she passed them, they were no longer giggling, but screaming. This just furthered her belief that these girls were not and never would be Quidditch players. They would be the Quidditch groupies.

She pulled out of the dive and glided around a Bludger with ease. She raced toward the goals. None of the other Quidditch hopefuls moved to stop her. She scored without any difficulty.

She turned back to see where the rest of the pack was. They were still at mid-pitch. She smiled and shook her head. This was going to be fun.

Katie watched as one of the giggling girls attempted to score a goal. She suppressed a laugh as the Quaffle fell several metres away from its' proper location.

She raced down the field and grabbed the Quaffle. She tossed it back up to the girl, who smiled warmly at her. It almost made Katie fell bad for mocking the girls. They really wanted to impress Harry. However, Harry was not the type of guy to fall for this sort flattery.

Katie returned the girl's smile and flew deep into the pitch. She had to get out of the shallow bay those girls were living in. Normally, she did not like to drift out to sea, but those girls gave her no other options.

From the distance, she watched as the girl went back up to score again. This time a Bludger hit her in the back of the head. Katie winced, but did have to give the girl some credit. She did at least manage to stay halfway on her broom.

From the ground below, Katie heard Harry's whistle.

She gently flew down toward the ground and landed with ease.

Harry made his way over to her. "Welcome back, Katie." He paused. "You are our first Chaser."

Katie nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Harry."

Harry nodded. "Now, we just have to find two more good Chasers, two Beaters, and a Keeper." He shook his head. "We'll have a new team and it will take awhile for everyone to play as a team."

Katie nodded. Good teams were not built over night. It took years to get a good team. A good team had to move and think as one. She just hoped that Gryffindor would be able to put it together.

Harry sighed. "I suppose I need to get the next group up into the air."  
"Yeah," Katie mused. She really wanted to go back to the castle now and do nothing. She figured that it would be rude if she left now.

Harry smiled at her once again and turned to leave.

Katie watched him leave. Sometimes she really did not get Harry. He seemed like an okay kind of guy to her, but others said otherwise. She was not sure really what to believe about him. They were not close friends, but they did not hate each other either.

People were just difficult.

Katie watched the final group take to the air. Ginny Weasley was in this group and would probably make the team. Katie did have to admit that Ginny was pretty good and would make a strong Gryffindor centre. She was not Angelina strong, but she was probably as strong as they were going to get.

At least, Katie got along just fine with Ginny.

She watched as Ginny glided around the field like a graceful bird in the sky. She turned her broom without hardly any effort and scored without any difficulty. Ginny soared to the other end of the pitch and turned back to watch her fellow hopefuls.

Katie did have to admit that Ginny's group had much more competition than what hers did. She hoped that Harry did not take her position back. She wanted to believe that Harry was not that kind of person, but she really did not know.

Ginny's group landed and Harry picked the final two chasers. Ginny would play centre and a new girl, Demelza Robins. Katie did not know Demelza and had only seen her around the common room a few times. She was either a second or third year, but Katie was not sure.

Harry called the three Chasers together. "I need you three to help me with Beater and Keeper tryouts," he said once they were all together.

Ginny bit her lip as she stared at the Beater hopeful. "I'm not getting injured by them," she commented.

Katie looked over at the potential Beaters. She kind of felt the same way, but she thought that Ginny had the situation under control.

Harry looked at Ginny. "Nothing is going to happen."

"Did you even watch the early Chaser groups!" Ginny exclaimed.

Katie and Demelza exchanged looks.

"Yes, it's not going to be like that."  
"How do you know?" Ginny rounded on Katie. "Did you feel like the fan groupies were going to kill you?"

Katie really hated it whenever people brought her into their fights. Drama just was not really her thing. "Um, maybe."

Ginny turned back to Harry. "See, Katie is so traumatized by the events that she can't even speak clearly."

Harry shot Katie a defeated smile. "I won't let anything happen."

Katie returned his smile.

Ginny grabbed her broom and kicked off angrily.

Demelza looked back and forth between Ginny and Harry. "So, what are we doing?"

"Helping with tryouts," Harry said as he pinched his temples.

Demelza nodded and mounted her broom.

"You are going to be in deep trouble later," Katie said before mounting her broom.

Harry sucked in air. "Let's just hope it's not too bad."

"Let's hope," Katie said as she kicked off.

Katie, Ginny, and Demelza hovered several metres away from each other. Each Beater hopeful had been given a Chaser to protect. The two who protected their Chaser the best would became the Beaters. It seemed like a simple enough concept, but Katie could see that there was going to be a slight problem. There was three Chasers and only two Beaters. Someone was more than likely going to get unseated.

Or perhaps it was a test to see if Harry picked the right Chasers.

Katie waited as a Beater hopeful flew over to her. She really did not know him, but judging from his built, he would not make a very good Beater. His Beater stick was almost a thick as he was and his body reminded Katie of a mouse. Great, just great. She was going to be the one to get unseated.

He smiled at her. "Jimmy Peakes," he said introducing himself.

Katie nodded and returned his smile. "Katie Bell."

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, I know. You're dating the Falcon's centre Chaser."

Katie tried not to roll her eyes. That was another thing she hated. "Um, yeah, I guess."

"You guess? He's really talented! I wish I had been a Hogwarts when he was still here. Of course, then he probably would have scared the living daylights out of me and now all I want to do is watch him from the distance. But you're probably not scared of him, since you're snogging him and doing who knows what with him. Unless you are, then that's just not a very healthy relationship. Do you get what I'm saying?" Jimmy said without taking a breath.

Katie raised her eyebrow. She really wanted to have a go at Harry now after Ginny was done with him.

The Beater tryouts went pretty smoothly for Katie. Jimmy turned out to be a better Beater than what he looked like. He did manage to put a pretty big knot on the back of Harry's head. Instead of being angry, Harry made Jimmy a Beater.

Demelza's Beater, Ritchie Coote, also made the team.

When Ginny landed beside Harry, she was fluming. Her Beater, a first year, had failed to block one Bludger. Needless to say, she was covered bruises and in a very foul mood. "HARRY POTTER!"

Katie looked over at Harry. "You'd better start walking."

Harry shook his head. "I could walk forever and she still would catch me."

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

"You are in deep trouble now, you got all three names."

"Maybe I had better get the Keepers up in the air, before she murders me."

Katie nodded. "I think that would be a wise idea."  
Ginny was still fluming throughout Keeper tryouts. She showed none of those poor Quidditch hopefuls any mercy. Other than that and Cormac McLaggen diving to the wrong goal, Keeper tryouts were very uneventful. Ron Weasley ended up getting the position by one goal.

Katie landed on the ground for the final time of the day. She followed the rest of the team back to the Gryffindor locker room.

Outside the locker room, Ginny rounded on Harry and clubbed him with her broom. Then, she walked into the locker room without saying a word.

"That looked rough," Katie said.

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, it was."

Thirty minutes later, Katie left the locker room and headed back to the castle. In the Entrance Hall, she saw Haley coming up from the dungeons.

"Katie, guess what?" Haley asked. She seemed pretty excited about something.

Katie was afraid to guess. "What?"

"I got Slytherin centre." Haley started walking toward the library. "Well, I have to met a Ancient Runes study group now, but I'd just thought that I would tell you the good news."

Katie watched her disappear. She was not sure if that was good news or not. From what Katie had seen, Haley was a really good Chaser. Haley had never tried out for the Slytherin Quidditch team, but had filled in many times.

Haley Flint being Slytherin Centre Chaser was not good news to Katie; it was really horrible news.


	28. Chapter 28: Nobody

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nobody

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus exited the Fairyland dungeon. They had been working on Fairyland for close to two weeks and almost had it completed.

Marcus spent his time between the Randolph Castle and the pitch. He only went home to shower and catch a few hours of sleep. He was still trying to go to university, but was only taking enough classes to be considered full time. He really did not know how he was still on a proper student schedule. However, he had been forced to change his major to Mediwizard. He had a lot of the basic classes in already. Plus, he figured that he would get more use out of Mediwizard than Magizoologist.

Sadly, he was going to none of those places now. He was going to Knockturn Alley to see if Natalia knew anything new and hopefully he would not see Avril. Avril was one of the reasons he had been avoiding Natalia's shop.

He went off the estate grounds and Apparated to Diagon Alley. There were more empty shops than the last time. If this kept up, soon there would be nothing left to the alley. He put his hood up and kept his head down as he went toward Knockturn Alley. He really did not want to be recognized today.

Sometimes being a Quidditch player just sucked. People tended to recognize you.

The Dark War really did not seen to have much effect on Knockturn Alley. If anything the alley was busier. Marcus tried not to look at anyone or draw attention to himself.

He made it to Natalia's shop without any serious incident.

Natalia looked at Marcus over the shoulder of the customer she was helping and motioned for him to wait. While he waited, he pretended to be interested by the items in the case near the checkout. The items were so dusty that he could not really make out what was in them; to be honest he wasn't sure that he wanted to know what was in the case.

A few minutes later, the customer left and Natalia turned her attention to Marcus. "I thought you had left me," she said coming out from behind the counter.

Marcus lowered his hood. "Just been busy."

Natalia nodded. She did not ask with what. She ran her hand along the glass case. "So have I."

Marcus nodded and didn't ask. Their relationship was one of don't ask and don't tell.

She circled around him. "So what brings you to my doorstep?"

Marcus followed her with his eyes. "Has anything new happened?"

Natalia stopped moving. "I've heard rumours."

Marcus raised his eyebrow. "About what?"

Natalia shrugged. "That depends on what you are looking for."

Marcus really hated it whenever she placed mind games with him. He just wanted a simple answer and that was it. "Why don't you tell me what I'm looking for?"

Natalia smiled. "I can't read your mind, sweetheart." She went over to him and walked his fingers up his chest.

Marcus moved away from her. He really hated it whenever she tried to seduce him. It never worked on him.

"Don't you like that, sweetheart?" she asked. She had a wide smirk on her face.

He also hated it whenever she called him sweetheart. He was not her sweetheart and nver would be. "Will you just tell me what you know?"

Natalia laughed at him. "You are in such a fine mood today, aren't you?"

Marcus did not response. He really did not want to be here. He just wanted to go home and go to bed. He pinched his temples. "Look, I don't have time for this. You either tell me or I will be on my way."

Natalia sighed. "Don't be hasty."  
Marcus did not say anything.

"Fine." She crossed her arms over her chest. "The Death Eaters are keeping their secrets even closer to themselves. They are plotting something big, but I have not heard what. It has something to do with a Vanishing Cabinet."

Marcus nodded. "Go on."

"I know that a Vanishing Cabinet is in Borgin and Burkes, but I don't know where the other one is." Natalia paused. "I'm not sure what they are planning on doing with it, but I do know who is involved."

Marcus nodded. "Keep going," he pushed.

"You're awful demanding," Natalia hissed.

"Natalia, are you going to tell me or not?"

Natalia sighed. "Draco Malfoy."

"Come again?" Marcus really did not understand how Malfoy was involved. Over the summer, Harry had told the Order that he believed that Malfoy was a Death Eater, but no one paid any attention to this. Was it possible that Potter was right?

"Draco Malfoy has been asking around about fixing the Vanishing Cabinet at Borgin and Burkes."

"Is that one broken or something?" Marcus was not grasping this completely. Malfoy being made a Death Eater at sixteen did not make any sense.

Natalia shook her head. "That's just it."  
"So, the other one is broken," Marcus stated.

Natalia nodded. "But there is still a lot of empty holes. Too many empty ones if you ask me. First off, we don't know why Malfoy is fixing a Vanishing Cabinet and we don't know where it is. Plus, we don't even know what they are going to do with it once both have been fixed."

Marcus nodded. "In other words, we need to keep an eye out."

"As always," Natalia said.

"That is very true," Marcus mused.

He knew that he should be taking this news back to the Order right away, but he could not make himself do so. He supposed that was what they got for forcing him to join against his own will. Also, he was sick of getting snapped at for every little thing. If what he got wasn't enough information, he got his head bit off.

There was also the matter of sending someone inside the circle of the Death Eaters. The only reason that he was thinking of doing it was because his parents did not want him to. However, he was not going to jump up and agree to it right away. The risks were stopping him. He could be killed because of this. Quite frankly, he wanted to live many more years.

Then, there was also stupid Fairyland. It bothered him that not one person from the Order had even offered to help him. They did not even ask if he even wanted to build it. If they found out that he had employed some of his friends to help him, they would probably bit his head off and kick him out. (Was that really such a bad thing?) The Order probably would not kick him out, because then they would have to build the damn thing by themselves.

"Marcus, are you okay?" Natalia asked him. She had her hand on his bicep.

Marcus when she had touched him. He must have been really out of it. "Um, yeah."

"You kind of spaced out on me."

Marcus pulled away from her. He really needed to keep it together. He was going to space out at the wrong time one of these days.

Natalia narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

"Why can't you believe me for thirty seconds?" He snapped.

Natalia crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "Temper, temper."

Marcus really hated it whenever she smirked at him. She probably even did it because it bothered him.

"That temper of yours is going to get you in trouble one day," Natalia continued.

Marcus really did not have to stay here and listen to her taunt him anymore. He threw his hood up over his head. "If you don't have anything else to say, then I will be on my way."

"Oh, I have plenty to say to you."

"Anything of importance?"  
"That depends on how you define importance."  
Marcus rolled his eyes and started toward to the door. "I will take that as a no."

"Always a pleasure talking to you! Come back soon!" Natalia called in a sarcastic voice as he let the shop door slam behind him.

Marcus supposed that it could had been worse. Avril could had been then and that would had given him a double headache. Because there were more people around than before, he walked with his head down and did not look up for his feet.

Once his feet set foot in Diagon Alley, he Apparated back to Randolph Castle. He wanted to get Fairyland finished as quickly as possible and move on with his life.

Damon was the only person left in the dungeon. The rest of them probably went home to attend to their own lives. Marcus was surprised to see that Damon was still here.

Marcus kind of wished that Damon had not stuck around. He really did not want any of them to sacrifice themselves and their social lives. He could not bring himself to ask anybody to do it. He knew that they would, but nobody needed to do that.

"I attached a couple of things to help fire it," Damon said as Marcus approached him.

Marcus nodded and studied Fairyland. He hoped that they could finish this thing up in a couple of days. "Do you think it will shoot?"  
Damon put his hands on his hips and stared at Fairyland. "I think it will, but I'm not promising anything."

Marcus ran his hands over the barrel of Fairyland. He hoped that it would fire; it would be kind of pointless if it didn't. "If someone stayed here a few more hours, we probably could get it finished."

Damon nodded. "If I stayed here with you, we could get it done in even half the time."

Marcus nodded again and clapped his hands. "Well, let's get to work."


	29. Chapter 29: Lost in Paradise

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Lost in Paradise

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie flopped down her a bed a few days after Quidditch tryouts. Defence Against the Dark Arts had been brutal today. Snape was bound and determined to make them learn spells mentally and without physically saying the spell. Any lip movement resulted in loss of House points and grade lowed by a letter. Katie had been lucky and none of her stuff was effected too much. Leanne, on the other hand, had been in tears when the lesson was over. Lisa had not been in tears, but had been pale and could not stop shaking. Alex had gotten kicked out of the lesson within the first five minutes from back talking and had not come back from Professor McGonagall's office.

Leanne and Lisa entered the room a few minutes later. Both had appeared to manage to somewhat calm down.

Katie looked at them. She really had no idea what to say.

"Can we forget that this ever happened?" Lisa asked.

"Please," Leanne said, "I don't want it to keep replaying over and over in my mind."  
Katie nodded. "How about we forget about it with some fun?"  
"How?" Lisa asked not understanding how it could be fun to forget about this day.

"Hogsmeade is coming up."

"I forgot about that," Leanne said. She moved her head back so she was looking at the ceiling. "I am so ready for some Three Broomsticks."

Lisa nodded. "It's the other shops that make the village."

Katie nodded. A weekend at Hogsmeade never got old. If the school would allow it, she would go there every weekend. The girls chatted about all there was to do at Hogsmeade for the next several minutes.

Lisa sat up on her bed. "Won't Marcus be up though?"  
Katie shook her head. Marcus was not going to be able to make it this weekend. He was working on Order stuff and he had a game Friday night in Sweden. "He's getting in really late on Friday and is probably going to be jet lagged."

Lisa smiled. "Good, you can just hang out with us."

"But if Marcus was here, we would have access to his bank account," Leanne added with a sigh.

Lisa nodded. "That is very true, but I think we can manage."

Katie nodded, not adding that she knew how to get into Marcus's back account. Some things were just better left unsaid.

Leanne smiled. "But we do need a girls' weekend."  
"Great, I could use a break from Alex," Lisa mused. She had a daydream look on her face. "Did I say that aloud?"

"Yeah," Katie said.

Lisa smiled. "Good, I had to be sure that I wasn't talking to myself."

"And here I thought you wanted to spend every waking moment with him," Leanne said.

Lisa made a face. "No, don't make me throw up my dinner."  
Leanne laughed. "I don't want to have to be the one to clean it up either."  
Katie smiled. Personally, she did not find Alex all that bad. Sure, he was a little on the annoying side. Overall, he really was not that bad of a guy. He was not her type, but he would make someone a really good boyfriend. She also thought that Lisa secretly liked him, but she was not going to say that to anyone.

"So this weekend, is girls' weekend then?" Lisa asked.

Leanne nodded. "It's official."

**Saturday **

Katie and the girls decided to skip breakfast on Saturday. They would eat their fill and more in the village. At around ten o'clock, the three of them made their way down to the courtyard where most of the students year three and above were gathered. The Aurors and Filch were checking their bags and making people turn their pockets out. She really thought that they needed to be checking what people were bringing into the castle instead of out of it.

She was not going to be the one to point it out.

It took several minutes for everyone to get and out of security. The freedom on the other side was worth being poked and searched by complete strangers. After weeks in the stuffy castle, a few hours at Hogsmeade would be paradise.

The girls laughed and gossiped all the way down to the village. It was like they were three normal teenage girls and were not at all threatened by the Dark War. None of them were targets, but that really did rule out the possibility of an attack.

"What did Alex end up doing today?" Leanne asked.

"He and some of his guy friends were going to dare each other to go into the Shrieking Shack or something like that," Lisa answered with a shrug. "I suppose that they are just going to be their annoying selves.

"At least they have each other to be annoying with," Leanne replied.

Lisa nodded. "Thank God for that one."

"We probably don't want to know for sure what they are doing," Katie added.

Lisa thought about it for a moment. "That is very, very true. Guys are scary when they are in a big group like that."  
"And they say that we are bad," Leanne muttered under her breath.

Lisa shook her head. "See, I don't understand that. I think that we are perfectly sane whenever we are in a group."

Katie nodded, but she was not completely sure about that one either.

The girls sent to next few hours roaming the shops and buying the treats that they offered. At Gladrags Wizardwear Katie picked up a few pairs of wacky socks. At Honeydukes, she loaded up her favourite sweets: Sugared Butterfly Wings and Cauldron Cakes. She really was not a sweet person but these were her weakness.

The others wanted to go into the joke shop, but that really was not Katie's scene. She decided to remain outside and enjoy a few of her sweets.

Many of the shops' windows were covered with various wanted posters and Dark Art defence methods. She hated the fact that the Death Eaters were at large and that the people on the side of good were not making any progress. She just hoped that Hogsmeade did not become what Diagon Alley did.

She stared at a large wanted poster of Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman was sneering out at Katie. Bellatrix did not seem to regret all of the those she killed. Katie really did not understand how anyone could be so heartless and just so evil.

Katie watched groups of Hogwarts students pass by her. They really did not see concerned about all of the wanted posters. Perhaps they were just choosing not to pay them any mind. She wished that she could be that way. It was probably because she knew people at the front lines.

Screaming pulled her away from the posters. She felt her heart skip a beat? Was someone hurt? Or worse?

The joke shop door burst open and Alex ran out of it. Small objects were clamped to his body.

A few minutes later, Leanne and Lisa emerged from the joke shop laughing. They were each carrying bulging bags.

"You should have come in," Leanne said. She was breathing hard and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Alex fell into a barrel of biting things, I'm not sure what they were. Anyway, they grabbed onto him and just would not let go," Lisa said laughing. "He ran out screaming and cussing up a storm." She laughed harder. "Oh, boy, it was great. Just bloody brilliant."

Katie nodded slowly and bit her lip. She really did not know why Lisa got enjoyment out of Alex's suffering. He was probably going to be very sore for the next couple of days. Poor, Alex.

Leanne shook her head. "I guess you just had to be there."

"I guess," Katie muttered. She hated being a spoil sport, but she was not going to laugh at someone's suffering. It just was not right. Okay, she had to take that back. It was okay on the Quidditch pitch.

Lisa wiggled in between Leanne and Katie. She draped her arms over both of their shoulders. "So, where to next, ladies?"

"What about Three Broomsticks?" Katie suggested. She really wanted to sit down and admire her crazy socks.

"A butterbeer sounds really good right now," Leanne added.

Lisa clapped them on the backs. "Three Broomsticks it is."

As the girls made their way toward the pub, the snow began to pick up. Once they reached it, it became clear that many of their fellow classmates had the same idea. The inside of Three Broomsticks was packed and it was almost impossible to find a seat. After many minutes of looking, they finally manage to locate a table in the back.

Alex was sitting at the table in front of them, nursing some sort of drink. Judging by the redness on his face, it had not been his first. His flesh was covered in various cuts and bruises. He looked downright miserable and lonely sitting there by himself. Katie felt sorry for him.

Within minutes of sitting down, a waitress came and took their order.

"I need to go to the loo," Katie said standing up. She really did not have to go, but something was pulling her toward there. It was a rather strange feeling. She knew that she should stay away, but she could not bring herself to.

Leanne nodded. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Katie shook her head. The pull was telling her to go alone. "I'm a big girl. I can do this on my own."

Leanne had a concerned look on her face. "If you say so."

Katie made her way back to the loo. Again, she felt as if some kind of power was drawing her there. It was like she was being drawn to some sort of shiny object.

"Katie," someone hissed to the left of the women's loo.

Trancelike Katie turned toward the voice. She could not see the person. "Yes?" Everything in Katie's body was screaming at her to get out of there. She could not mover feet.

A package emerged from the shadows. "Take this to Professor Dumbledore and do not let anyone stop you. You must do this no matter what."  
Katie did not want to reach out and take the package. She could not prevent her arms from extending out and taking it. "I will do what you say." Her voice did not even sound like her own. What on Earth was going on here? No, no, no!

"That is all," the voice said.

Katie turned and started toward the front of the pub. She felt someone grab her arm and try to stop her.

"Katie, what are you doing?" Leanne cried.

"I have to go back to school. I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore."

Leanne stepped in front of Katie. "We can follow Lisa and Alex. They are going back in a little bit."

Katie moved around Leanne. "I can't want." She walked toward the front of the pub and stepped out onto the street.

"Katie!" Leanne yelled running up behind her. "What's going on?"

Katie did not answer. She just kept walking blankly ahead unaware of the people around her.

"Katie, please!" Leanne begged as she ran up beside her friend.

Katie picked her pace up. She really did not have time for this. She had to get this back to Professor Dumbledore. Why didn't Leanne understand that?

They were outside the village now. Hogwarts was so close to them. In a few minutes, the mission would be complete.

"Katie, you don't know what that is or what it could do!" Leanne cried from the left of Katie. "Please!"

"I need to do this," Katie snapped. She brushed her hands against the package.

"Katie!" Leanne cried again. "Please, put it down and don't touch it anymore.

Katie moved a few metres forward. Leanne did not know what she was talking about. She was just some crazy girl.

Something was wrong. She felt strange. She did not know what it was, but she really did not fell like herself. She felt her feet being lifted off the ground and heard the scream escape her mouth.

"KATIE!" Leanne screamed from the ground below.

Katie felt the wind circle around her. A few minutes later, she slammed back down onto the ground. Darkness took over her. The world was gone. It was just her and nothing else. Nothing hurt. It was as if she was in someone kind of paradise. It felt amazing. It felt as if she was floating. Deep down she knew the truth. She may had been in paradise, but she was also lost in paradise.


	30. Chapter 30: Frozen

Chapter Thirty: Frozen

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus paced the length of his bedroom. Fairyland was complete. He was not sure that it fired, but at least the weapons had been completed. As far as he was concerned rather or not the thing fired was the Order's problem. Of course, they would probably come up with some reason to blame him.

As if it was all his fault.

He had yet to tell the Order about what Natalia had said about Draco Malfoy and the Vanishing Cabinet. He knew that he should had told them as soon as he had found out about it, but something was holding him back. He was not sure if the information was enough significant enough to tell the Order. What difference did it make if Draco Malfoy was interested in a Vanishing Cabinet?

Marcus stopped in front of the sliding glass door that lead out to a small balcony. He pulled back the curtains and stared outside. A gentle mist was clearing off the lake below his house. As he looked up at the sky, he could see that the sun was trying to push its' way through the dark clouds. He kind of hoped that the sun would shine. Light was needed to part this darkness.

Marcus let the curtain drop. There was an Order meeting in a few minutes. He supposed that was as good as chance to tell them what he knew. He just hoped that they did not lecture him too much.

He picked his wand up off his bed and shoved it into his back jeans pocket. Then, he threw on a black jacket. He was not in the mood to put up with robes today. He took a deep breath and Apparted to the Burrow.

Marcus arrived outside the boundaries of the Burrow gasping for air. No matter how many times he Apparted, he never got used to the affect of it. Flying or driving was more his style.

He readjusted his jacket and began to walk toward the Burrow with his head down and hands shoved deep in his pockets. It only took him a few minutes to walk across the lawn to the front door. Without hesitating, he pushed door open and stepped into the kitchen.

The Order members looked up at him and stopped talking once he entered. Most of them had looks of concern or pity on their faces. He knew that this was not going to be good. Did they find out about the Vanishing Cabinet?

"Look I was going to tell you about the Draco Malfoy and the Vanishing Cabinet. Some told me that Draco Malfoy has been asking around about fixing the Vanishing Cabinet at Borgin and Burkes. She didn't know where the other one was or what his intention with it is. Also Fairyland is fixed, but I'm not sure if I fires or not," Marcus said one breath.

The Order members where looking at him with strange looks on their faces.

He wondered if he was in more trouble than he had previously thought. He waited for them to say something, say anything. No one said anything. No one even blinked. They just kept on looking at him.

"Marcus, you may want to sit down," Remus said pointing to a chair in front of Brad.

Marcus looked at the chair. Was he in that much trouble? "Look, I really did mean to tell you sooner, but time just got away from me."

Remus shook his head. "That's okay. That's not even what we need to tell you."

Marcus looked at his feet. Okay, now it was official. He really had no clue as to what was going on. "Can't you just tell me?"

Jasmine stepped out of the shadows. "Marcus, please."

Marcus looked over at his mum. She had a worried look on her face. He just wished that they would tell him. "Just tell me, okay?"

"Come here," Jasmine said softly.

Marcus tried not to groan. He knew that he was not going to get anywhere unless he went over to his mother. He hated how she always seemed to hold some kind of power over anyone of the male gender.

Jasmine was still looking at her son.

Marcus did not debate it anymore. He walked over to his mother. She put her arm around him and headed over to where Brad was.

Once next to his father, Marcus felt his mobile vibrate. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He looked at the number and was very surprised to see that Katie's father was calling him.

"Is it important?" Brad asked.

"I don't know," Marcus said. He was frowning at the phone.

"Who is it?" Brad asked.

"Katie's dad."

"Don't answer it," Brad said. He took his son's mobile and shoved it into his own pocket.

Marcus gave his dad a look. Did that really just happen? His dad have not taken his mobile away from him in years. It really made him feel childish. "Why not?"

Brad and Jasmine looked at each other. Their eyes seemed to be debating something.

"Um, there was an accident at Hogwarts," Brad started.

Marcus nodded wondering what Harry and his friends had done now. They always seemed to be in some sort of trouble.

"It could have been worse and she is really lucky to be alive," Brad continued. "I really don't know how to tell you this."

"Just tell me," Marcus snapped. He did not like that the fact that this was taking forever. "And give me back my phone," he added as an afterthought.

Brad and Jasmine exchanged looks.

"Marcus, Katie was cursed today by a necklace intended for Dumbledore," Brad said.

Marcus stared at this father. He was frozen, unable to move. This had to be some kind of sick and twisted joke. He really did not understand who would so cruel as to hurt Katie. What rather bothered him seemed to be an unanswered question. Why did Katie have the necklace in the first place?

"We believe that someone hexed her into taking the necklace in the first place," Brad continued.

"Where is she?" Marcus asked once her found his voice.

"St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," Brad said.

Marcus nodded. He knew that was not a good sign. He really did not know what to say. He really did not have a lot to say.

Jasmine put her arm around him. "Are you okay?"

Marcus nodded and pulled away for his mother. "I have to go."

Jasmine smiled weakly at her son. "Of course."

"Phone now," Marcus snapped at his dad.

Brad glared at him, but handed over the mobile without a word.

Marcus turned and left the Burrow. He almost wished that someone would had called him back. He almost wished that someone would had been one step behind. Instead he knew the truth. He was alone.

That fact that he was alone was not what hurt the worse. The Order clearly had known about the attack earlier, but no one had thought to tell him. Katie's dad had thought to call him, but still. Marcus thought that he was at least close enough with his parents that they would had told him something this major. He guessed now that he was wrong.

Maybe this was his payback for not telling the Order whatever he found out right away. Maybe this was someone's way of taking revenge on him. Maybe someone was trying to make him suffer. There seemed to be a lot of maybes right now. Perhaps it would be like a philosophy lesson where nothing is ever truly answered.

He had never actually taken a philosophy lesson, but he knew enough about it to know that it worked something like that.

Marcus Apparted to London. He had a feeling that he really was not thinking straight. He was not even sure if the hospital staff would even let him in. Technically he was not a member of her family. He was not sure if family was the only people allowed in either. Whenever he himself was in the hospital, he did not pay attention to those details.

He paced outside St. Mungo's unsure of what to do. He knew that he should go in, but he did not want to sit out in the waiting room like an idiot either. He just needed to suck it up and go in. This was his girlfriend after all.

It took many more minutes before Marcus found that he was able to man up and enter. Without stopping at the front desk, he crept up to her floor. He had been here enough that he had a basic understanding as to where he was going.

He entered her room and sat down next to her bed. He reached for a hand and took it into his large one. Her hand was tough, but, yet, so delicate.

So innocent...

So sweet...

Her blond hair is fanned across the pillow. Her skin is pale and untouched. She looked like an angel fallen from heaven.

He watched her breath. Up, down. Inhale, exhale. It looked so lovely. It made her alive.

He touched her wrist. He could feel her pulse. Her heart was beating, beating. It was strong and steady, not weak. That was good. Now he could relax a little.

Maybe...

He kisses her forehead. It was warm, not cold. It was another sign that she was alive.

Alive, not dead.

She was fully alive.

She was just in a trance. She was in a dreamland. Any day now, she would come out of it.

Any day, now.

"What are you doing here?" a loud voice demanded from the doorway.

He looked at the angry Healer.

"Only family is allowed in here!"  
He thought about claiming that he is family, but he could not. The Healer knew who he is. His picture was in every magazine under the sun. That was what he got for playing for the Falmouth Falcons.

"Get out!" the Healer screamed. She took out her wand.

"But, I'm-," he started in.

She threw a jinx at him. "I don't care who you are. If you're not family, then no entrance."

He stood up and casted one last look at his sleeping beauty.

Once they both are outside, the Healer softened. "Look, dear, I'm sorry, but I can't let you in. It's hospital policy."

He nodded understanding.

The Healer touched him gently. "But she will be okay."

"She'll live?" he inquired.

"Yes, and when she wakes up, she'll be demanding to see you."

He perked up. His sleeping beauty was going to be okay. It didn't matter that he couldn't see her, just as long as she healed.

That was all that mattered.

**The Burrow **

A few hours later, Marcus found himself back outside the Burrow. He could not believe that he was actually going to do this. He hoped that someone was still around.

He pushed open the door and stepped in. Remus, Mr and Mrs. Weasley, and Kingsley were all seated at the kitchen table. They all looked up at he entered.

"Marcus," Remus said surprised. "We did not expect you back so soon."

Marcus just shrugged. He really did not want to tell them that he got kicked out Katie's room. "I'll do it."

"Do what?" Remus asked.

"The double agent thing," Marcus answered slowly.

Kingsley and Remus exchanged looks.

"It's risky," Kingsley said.

"I know."

"It's dangerous."  
"I know."

"Are you sure that this is what you want?"

Marcus took in a deep breath. "I'm positive."

**The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay returns May 2013! Anyway, finals and the end of year crap is upon us. I will also be focusing on my stories over on fictionpress . **


	31. Chapter 31: In Passing

Chapter Thirty-One: In Passing

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

Her world was a whirl wind of colours. They stood out against the dark backdrop of the world in front of her. She did not know what was happening to her; all she knew was that she did not want to be in this situation and that she had to get out.

She did not remember what happened. All she remembered was being with Leanne and the girls in Hogsmeade. After that, her world was complete darkness. She wanted to remember. She wanted to go back to the world that she had left. She wanted to see her friends and her family. She wanted out of this awful world!

She looked around. She was trying to see the way out but there was nothing. It was as if she was in a snow globe and could not break it's barriers. No matter how hard she rammed into the glass walls, they just would not seem to shatter. The globe was not beauty, it was a prison.

A prison that would not let her go.

She felt so alone in her prison. The world outside of there was going on as it normally would, but her world was not moving. She was on the inside looking out. She knew that people could see her, but they could not reach in and save her. She just hoped that they did not pass over her and forget her.

She reached out and touched the glass walls again. She gently tapped them but they did not do anything. The colours around her moved ever so slightly but that was it. She frowned. Why wouldn't it break? Why couldn't she leave?  
She sat back down and cruelled up into a little ball. She blinked rapidly. She was not going to cry again. Crying got her nowhere. Moving also got her nowhere. What was the point of trying to get out if there was no way out? She was just wasting her time and strength.

She was all alone. She was just a dot in this world, in a world that did not care for and about her. She knew that she should be thinking of other things, but this was all there was to think about. She just really wanted to go home! That really should not be that much to ask for!

However, she supposed that it really was too much to ask for.

She looked up at. All she could see was colours and darkness. Colours and darkness really did not make any sense to her. How could these two things possibly go together? This world just made no sense to her.

She closed her eyes. Maybe if she just slept, she would wake up from this awful nightmare and go back to the right world.

** Katie handed him his shirt. "Here."**

** He took it from her with a nod and pulled it over his head. His head pounded even worse as he did so. "I didn't do anything stupid last night, did I?"**

** Katie smiled. "Nothing more than usual."**

** "Great." He went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. **

** "Do don't remember, do you?"**

** "Do I not remember what?" he asked as he pulled the pants over his boxers. **

** Katie studied Marcus as if she was trying to place her words carefully. "You promised to tell me what was going on."**

** Marcus snorted. "Now, I know for certain that I did not promise that."**

** Katie let a hurt look rush across her face. "Whatever, jerk." **

** He went over to her side. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I can't."**

** She glared at him. "Why not?"**

** "It's complicated." He sat down next to her.**

** "Oh, just like how it is between you and Wood." Katie stood up. "Everything is so complicated with you!"  
Marcus looked at the floor. "Katie, don't-"**

** "Don't what?"**

** He looked back up at her. "Don't yell at me about it."**

** She sat back down. "Then, why won't you tell me."**

** Marcus stared into her blue eyes. "It's too risky for you to know."**

** "Why?"**

** "Because he could come after you if you knew."**

** Katie did not have to ask who he was. She already knew.**

** Marcus smiled at her. "If you must have an analogy, here it is. I hold the key of the world, but I am at the Reaper's door." He shook his head. "That did not make any sense."**

** Katie shrugged. "It was a nice attempt." **

** "Yeah, right," he muttered. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I need someone to save me from myself." He watched as her face turned to confusion. **

** "Before I do something very stupid."**

** "What could be stupid about you are doing?"**

** "Oh trust me, there's plenty."**

She shook her head, but did not open her eyes. Why was she dreaming about taking care of her hungover boyfriend. She always hated it whenever he got drunk or just drank in general. She was just happy that he had given up on that disgusting habit and saved his liver. She never really understood why he drank in the first place. If he had not started, then he wouldn't have had to give it up.

Without opening her eyes, she rolled over. She just wanted to dream of happy things and remember all of the good times she had in this life or rather her pass life. The life she was in now really was not hers. She was just in passing and would be out of here soon.

She rolled over onto her back. She was not going to open her eyes until she was out of this awful world. She would just lie here and dream about the life she longed to go back to.

** Marcus followed closely behind her. Once they reached the room, Katie shut the door behind them and turned on the light. **

** She went over to her desk and picked up a package. "This is for you." She handed it over to him. **

** Marcus nodded his thanks as he opened it. Inside there was a pair of gloves and a thick book. **

** "I am getting sick of holding your cold hand and I thought that you would find it very entertaining to read a Muggle fantasy." **

** It was a little known fact that he did actually read. "The Lord of the Rings," Marcus read slowly. He had never heard of it. **

** "It is a very good series," Katie said. **

** Marcus nodded and handed her gift. He was just going to have to take her word on the book. **

** Katie opened it and gasped. She was holding the bear and looking at the locket around its' neck. She took the locket off the neck. "Will you put it on me?" **

** Marcus walked to her and brushed her hair aside. He clasped the chain together. **

** She turned to him. "I did not put anything inside," he said. **

** Katie nodded. "I will just have to find something." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Merry Christmas." **

** "Merry Christmas," Marcus said back. **

** She deepened the kiss as the soft tune of "Jingle Bell Rock" drifted up through the floor. After a few minutes, she broke the kiss. "We had best get downstairs before Dad comes up here and threatens to murder you in your sleep." **

** Marcus laughed. **

** Katie started toward the door. "Oh, the bear is the same one you got me last year." **

** Marcus followed her. "Oops." **

This was a much better memory to think about. She hated all of the bad times that she and he had gone through together. The good times was what she had lived for and hoped to return to. Even though life was about everything, she just wanted to remember all of the good things. She feared that if she attempted to remember all the good and all of the bad that she would not want to return to her old life.

That would be really bad. She could not stay in a place that she did not belong in. It was just the simple fact. She had to get back. She could not stress it enough. She could say it every minute of every waking day and it still would not be enough. She just had to remember that she had a life to go back to. She had people who loved her waiting for her return.

She held her eyes tightly shut. This was just a bad dream. She just had to remember that. No matter what happened, she just had to remember that this was not her world. She could not and would not lose hope. She would keep holding on. She would find a way to make it back to the world she belonged in.

** Twenty minutes later, the girls were sitting in a dancing club slash bar. There were a lot of people there. Most of them looked as if they were in their late teens, early twenties. It was a good cover. Three Broomsticks or one of the other pubs would had made them way too obvious. Here they could blend without any difficulty. **

** The music was blaring so loud that Katie's ear drums felt as were going to burst. She looked at the people, probably absolutely strangers, were grinding each other and other strange dancing. Most of them were probably drunk. Girls were wearing dresses that were shorter than Katie's top. It was all very strange and they were enjoying making fun of them. **

** Leanne nudged Katie. "Hotties at twelve o'clock." **

** Katie looked. A few booths in front of them four young men were eating fries and burgers. She did not recognize them, but they were very cute. Two of them had blond hair and the other two had dark hair. "Leanne, I have a boyfriend." **

** "I dare you to ask one to dance," Angelina said. **

** "Me too," **

** Haley, Miley, and Ginny were smiling at her. **

** Katie finished her butterbeer and jumped up. She went back to the booth and grabbed the dark haired boy on the end. She did not bother looking at him. She just grabbed and pulled him out onto the dance floor. "Let's dance." **

** She let the music take control. **

It dawned on her that she had never asked what he had been doing there in the first place. She knew that he want out with his friends but always figured that they went to Falmouth or London. Maybe they was just after a change in scenery.

She really did not care. All she cared about was holding on to these memories because they would probably be her only way out.

She rolled onto her back. She was ready to start her journey back to her world. She was pretty sure that she would not have too much trouble now.


	32. Chapter 32: Say My Name

Chapter Thirty-Two: Say My Name

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus ran his hand over his unshaven cheek. It had been a long and difficult couple of months. Katie had not improved at all. Another Christmas and New Year had gone by without him really noticing. Last month, Fairyland had been fired for the first time. Now, there was talks of using it to break up known Death Eater hideouts. He numb to time and was just going through the motions of living. It was like he dead, hollow, inside.

He unbuttoned his shirt and let it hang loosely on his shoulders. He was afraid of what the future was going to bring. He was afraid of what he would have to do as a double agent. He did not want to be forced to take the Dark Mark. He did not want to lose himself for this.

Most importantly, he wanted to do what was right. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the ones he loved. This was something that he would not had been able to do four months ago. It was amazing how one incident changed at person's life.

Marcus flopped back on his bed and closed his eyes. He would have to do whatever it was necessary to protect those he cared about.

He sat back up and buttoned his shirt. He did not have time for all of this thinking. He needed to act and get something done together. Sitting here worrying was not going to get him anywhere. He was not sure what he was going to do; he just needed to do something.

He shoved his wand in his back pocket and with a pop disappeared.

A few moments later, he found himself outside of the Riddle House. In a few weeks, the Riddle House would not be standing. It was one of the Order's targets with Fairyland. He was not sure why the Death Eaters had a hideout in the most obvious place. At least, it made the Order's job a little easier.

He entered the house and headed down to the basement. He pushed open the door and stepped in. Only a few Death Eaters were in the room. They were mostly lower ranked ones, but Bellatrix was there. For some odd reason, Bellatrix's new goal in life was to make Marcus's life a libing hell. He was not sure why. It wasn't like he had ever done anything to her.

She glared at him. "Follow me," she barked.

Marcus followed Bellatrix Lestrange's long cloak as she led him across the sweeping grounds of the Riddle House. She held the door open for him, which would have been a nice gesture if she was wasn't hoping he'd die, and beckoned him inside.

Once inside she lite her wand. "Get your wand out and light yours, boy," she ordered him.

Marcus fumbled for his wand. Bellatrix was growing impatient. Finally, he pulled it out of his back pants pocket. He lite it and followed her up the stairs.

After they had gone up two flights, she shoved him through an open door. Then, she seized his wrist and marched him into the centre of the room. This made him feel like a small child again. Once in the centre, she forced him onto his knees.

Marcus looked up and saw that he and Bellatrix weren't alone. In the circle around him was a dozen or so masked, hooded figures. He couldn't tell who anyone was expect for Bella.

"Look at me, Marcus," an icy, high, voice ordered from the right of him.

Marcus couldn't help but to obey. There was something in that voice that really crept him out. When he looked up he saw that he was looking into the snake-like face of Lord Voldemort.

"Give me your left arm," the Dark Lord commanded.

Before Marcus could react, the Dark Lord had seized his arms and was pulling his robe up. His heart was racing. He was not sure what was going on here. He watched as Voldemort ran his fingers over his bare arm. He could feel He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named pressing on different parts of his arm.

"How do we know that you are truly one of us?" the Dark Lord inquired as he studied Marcus's arm. "Your family is so against us and how can I know that you're not one of them." He paused. "I just can't bring myself to mark you until we know for sure."

Marcus stayed silent. He was not sure what he was supposed to do.

"I have heard rumours of a weapon that could destroy us all. It was supposed to be hidden deep in the castle of one of your family members," the Dark Lord continued. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"I don't talk to my family," Marcus said keeping his voice strong. He did not understand how they could possibly know about Fairyland. Even all of the Order members did not know about it.

"Smart boy," the Dark Lord said. "But how do we know that you are telling the truth." A thoughtful look came across his face. "If you could get us information on this weapon, then we would know how true you are."

Marcus just looked at Voldemort.

The Dark Lord dropped Marcus's arm. "Yes, that is what you can do for us. You may go now."

Marcus got to his feet and exited the room unsure of how he was going to pull this one off. Those thoughts raced through his mind for the next couple of hours. There was no way that he was going to be able to pull it off. He was not even sure what he was supposed to say to the Order or if they would even help him. They always seemed to leave him isolated.

Without even realizing it, Marcus arrived outside of St. Mungo's. This had been a regular stop for him over the past couple of months. For once, it was not because of his own injuries. He was just relieved that they were letting him in now. He was sure that Katie's dad and stepmum had said something to the hospital staff.

He walked down the hall toward Katie's room. Every day he hoped that something that he would walk in and she would be sitting there waiting for him. Each day, he was left disappointed. He knew that she was just lucky to be alive, but that did not stop him from hoping and wishing.

He peered into her room. Nothing had changed. She was laying there looking like the angel she was. Her blond hair was a halo around her pale skin. She looked doll like. Marcus knew that if he ever called her a doll to her face that he would be blasted into the next century.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her hand into his. He wished that she was here with him so he could tell her what was on his mind.

Marcus looked at her peaceful face. Even though he wasn't' the one hurt, he felt so helpless. He guessed that he now understood how his own loved ones felt whenever he had been severely injured during his last year of Hogwarts. He wanted to help her, but couldn't.

With his other hand, he reached out and touched her hair. He wondered where she was and if she was happy there. Most importantly, he wondered when she was coming back to him.

"Marcus," someone said from the doorway.

Marcus looked up and dropped Katie's hand. Jim Bell, Katie's dad, and Jenna, her stepmother, was standing in the doorway. Both of them looked extremely tried. Even though he and Katie had been together for awhile, he was still a little unsure of what they thought of him.

"I didn't know you was here," Jim continued.

"Is that a problem?" Marcus asked. Again, feeling unsure as to what they thought of him.

Jim shook his head. "Of course not," he said as he and Jenna took seats on the other side of the bed. "I just thought that you would still be at training or something."

Marcus shook his head. "I have Mondays off."  
"I've lost count of the days," Jenna said with a smile. "You play all weekend don't you?"

Marcus nodded. He really didn't want to talk about Quidditch right now.

"When do you sleep?" Jenna asked gently.

Marcus shrugged. "Whenever."

"Don't you usually do so on Mondays?"

Marcus knew where this was going. He had already gotten this lecture multiple times.

"That's what I thought," Jenna said not waiting for him to answer. "You really do need to sleep."

Marcus fought the urge to roll his eyes. He never did understand why people enjoyed lecturing him over this stuff.

Jenna reached across the bed and put her arm on his shoulder. "I mean it." She smiled and took her arm off of his. "I don't like how you hard they work you at training."

Marcus stared at the floor. If only she knew that training was the last thing on his mind right now. "Okay," he muttered after a few minutes of silence.

Jenna nodded. "Glad to hear it."

Marcus looked up from the floor and back at Katie. She looked just as peaceful as ever. She longed for her to come out of the frozen state she was in and say his name.

Jim sighed. "It's been a long haul."

The other two nodded in agreement.

"I just want to kill the person who hurt my little girl," Jim continued.

Marcus and Jenna exchanged looks. They had heard it all before.

Jim paused. "They said that this is another test of some sort that they can do on her. The only problem is that it's over a hundred thousand galleons." He looked over at Marcus. "Sorry, it just came out."

Marcus nodded, not really paying attention to Jim talk anymore. A hundred thousand galleons was a lot for most wizards, but he was not most wizards. A hundred thousand would hardly be a dent in his bank account. His trust fund alone was enough to keep the common person going for a fair number of years. Knowing his insurance, it would probably cover the test. He knew for sure that it would cover the cost of the hospital stay. The only problem would be convincing Katie's parents to let him put her on his insurance or pay for the test. That was probably going to be a very difficult task.

He watched Jenna and Jim out of the corner of his eye. He did not want to bring it up here in the hospital, but in good time he would. Katie had to get better and there was just no other way around it.

A few hours later, all three left the room. Marcus's head was still racing. He was still unsure of the Dark Lord's request, but more sure of the fact that Katie was going to get better. That lightened his heart and showed him that there was hope in this storm.


	33. Chapter 33: Lost Forever

Chapter Thirty-Three: Lost Forever

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

**Bold: Flashback **

Her world was still spinning around her. She wondered how much longer this was going to go on. The end was surely near. She did not know how much longer this world could keep her within its tight grasp.

Oh, how she wanted to go home and be with her loved ones. It was the only thing she could think of doing. She wanted them to know that she was okay.

She held her eyes shut even tighter. She had to keep telling herself that she was not going to open them until she knew that she had returned to her world.

Her world was spinning even faster until another memory entered her mind.

** "Katie," a male voice said from behind her. **

** Katie whipped around. Marcus stood behind her in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. His face was covered with a day's worth of beard. She went over to him and kissed his lips. **

** He broke the kiss a few minutes later. "I did not hear my alarm go off." He looked down at her. "You should had woke me up." **

** Katie smiled up at him. "Naw, I was too busy enjoying your choice of reading material." She went over to the coffee table and picked the book up. "**_** The Catcher in the Rye**_**?" **

** Marcus took the book from her. "What is wrong with it?" he asked as he studied the book's cover. **

** "Nothing. I just did not take you as the type of person who reads classical Muggle literature," Katie said smiling. **

** Marcus shrugged. "I like the story line." He sat down on the couch. **

** Katie sat down next to him. She kissed him again. He returned the kiss as she climbed up his lap. She gently pushed him down and sat on his hips. She kissed his neck and slid her hands up under his shirt. His stomach was hard from years of playing Quidditch. She could feel his muscles expand and contract as he breathed. His shirt rose up a bit and she could see a little of his abs and the V of his hips. **

** Marcus was now kissing her neck. His hands were gently running up and down her back. Words could not describe how it made her feel. She felt like she was floating on air. Her stomach felt as if there was several hundred butterflies flying around in there. She did not know why she was so nervous. This was Marcus. There was no reason to be nervous, but she was. It was not a bad nervous, but a good one. **

** Katie ran her hands through his short dark hair. It was so soft and was just getting long enough to be wavy. She loved it when his hair got wavy. It brought out his looks. **

** They broke away several minutes to catch their breathes. Katie was not necessary out of breath, but could not stop her head from spinning. Marcus made her feel like a love struck teenager. He was the first guy to ever make her feel this way. **

** Marcus touched the side of her face. "You are beautiful, you know that right?" **

** Katie smiled. No male besides her father had ever called her beautiful. She leaned in and kissed him again. She wondered if kissing him for every little thing was over doing it. She decided that it was okay if both parties involved that so. **

She felt a strange wave pass over her. It was a feeling that she only got when he was mentioned. Okay, she supposed that it happened when her friends were mentioned too. It made her feeling like she belonged somewhere. This was something that she had not felt during her younger years. She felt special around them.

She loved the feeling of being special. She enjoyed feeling wanted or even needed. She had never been much of a people person until she reached Hogwarts. There people thought she was cool or cute. He took it a step further and called her beautiful.

She rolled over unto her back. She wanted to get out of this world. She wanted to go home. She could feel her world turning, but knew that it wasn't going anywhere. Sometimes she wondered why she kept hoping that she would get out of this world.

Her eyes were being to cramp up. She hoped that this nightmare would soon be over and that she was not lost forever.

** Katie mounted her broom and kicked off. It felt so good to be in the air again. She was free. Harry tossed the Quaffle to her and so took off toward the goals, flying with ease. About halfway down the pitch she passed it to one of the giggling girls, who dropped it. Katie swooped around her and grabbed the Quaffle before it hit the ground. **

** Katie dived back up and scattered a group of the giggling girls. As she passed them, they were no longer giggling, but screaming. This just furthered her belief that these girls were not and never would be Quidditch players. They would be the Quidditch groupies. **

** She pulled out of the dive and glided around a Bludger with ease. She raced toward the goals. None of the other Quidditch hopefuls moved to stop her. She scored without any difficulty. **

** She turned back to see where the rest of the pack was. They were still at mid-pitch. She smiled and shook her head. This was going to be fun. **

** Katie watched as one of the giggling girls attempted to score a goal. She suppressed a laugh as the Quaffle fell several metres away from its' proper location. **

** She raced down the field and grabbed the Quaffle. She tossed it back up to the girl, who smiled warmly at her. It almost made Katie fell bad for mocking the girls. They really wanted to impress Harry. However, Harry was not the type of guy to fall for this sort flattery. **

** Katie returned the girl's smile and flew deep into the pitch. She had to get out of the shallow bay those girls were living in. Normally, she did not like to drift out to sea, but those girls gave her no other options. **

** From the distance, she watched as the girl went back up to score again. This time a Bludger hit her in the back of the head. Katie winced, but did have to give the girl some credit. She did at least manage to stay halfway on her broom. **

** From the ground below, Katie heard Harry's whistle. **

** She gently flew down toward the ground and landed with ease. **

** Harry made his way over to her. "Welcome back, Katie." He paused. "You are our first Chaser." **

She rolled back over. The last few hours, minutes, whatever, had the first time that she was flat out restless. Besides wanting to get back to her world, she had never been out right restless here. Something was changing. She was not sure if it was a good change or not, but at least something was changing.

She rolled over yet again. She could not find peace wherever she turned. This never happened to her in own world. What was up with this? She just wanted to lay still and dream.

She felt something that she had never experienced in this world race across her body. It was a burning sensation and it make her feel unwanted in her own body. It took her a few minutes to realize what this strange feeling was: pain. Aw, pain. They say that pain is sweet to the senses. As it raced across her body, she begged to differ.

Pain was unwelcome in this unfeeling world. It needed to go away. Pain in this world was unnatural and her body could not handle it for much longer.

Her body was making jerky moves without her constant. She fought the urge to scream while fighting her body. She wanted to be in control of herself. No, what was happening to her was unacceptable. It was not okay for this thing to mess with her personal space.

Most importantly, it was making it rather difficult for her to keep her eyes shut. If she opened her eyes, she would be going back on her promise to herself. She was not one to go back on her promises. She would not open her eyes.

It was becoming too much! Why couldn't they just stop?

She was going to have to give in. She opened her mouth and screamed. She screamed the loudest and highest that she could. Her world was spinning faster and faster. The kaleidoscope colours were blending together above her head. She knew there were even if she could not see them.

"STOP IT!" she screamed. She put her hands over her eyes to block out the sound of her own screaming. "STOP IT! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"

The world was spinning faster now. She felt as if she was going to be sick.

"Pl-please, make it stop" she whimpered.

Another round of pain raced through her body. She screamed and began to hit the air around her. Her hand hit off of something. Wait, air should be solid.

"Katie, Katie, honey, please stop!" a voice commanded her. "Open your eyes. You're safe."

The voice was familiar. She was sick of keeping her eyes closed and opened them. The first thing she saw was Jenna and her dad.

"You're safe," Jim repeated as he stroked his daughter's hair.

Tears were running down Katie's face. She had not even realized that she was crying until the wetness dripped off her chin. She was safe. Nothing was ever going to hurt her again.

She saw him standing in the doorway smiling with his arms crossed over his chest. "Get over here, loser," she commanded.

Marcus walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips. She really did not care that her father and stepmother was in the room.

Jim cleared his throat after a few minutes. "The Healers want to examine her."

They broke apart, but Katie knew that it was just an excuse to get them to stop snogging.


	34. Chapter 34: Sweet Curse

Chapter Thirty-Four : Sweet Curse

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus watched as Katie's screams ended and her blue eyes popped open. It had taken a lot of convincing before her parents gave in on letting him pay for the test.

When she saw him, she beckoned him over. The kiss had been wonderful, perhaps on the of the best that they had ever shared. It was only the protests of her father that had caused them to break apart.

"Welcome back," he whispered as he pulled away from her.

Katie smiled and nodded. "I did some thinking while I away and realized something about you," she said sweetly. "I have a gift for you."

Marcus felt his eyes narrow. He did not know where this was going and he was not sure if he was going to like the outcome.

Katie raised her hand and calmly slapped him across the face.

Marcus winced. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being a jerk," Katie snapped.

Marcus looked over at Jim and Jenna. They had confused looks on their faces as well.

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked.

"For every stupid thing that you've done since we've been together!" Katie snapped. "Knowing you, you've probably done even more stupider things since I was gone! You're going to get yourself killed!"  
If she only knew...Marcus was not about to tell that she was right and that he had done something very stupid. "Do we have to discuss this now?"

"No time like the present," Katie said.

Jenna and Jim were now giving them confused looks.

"Katie-" Marcus started in.

"They don't control you or own you. I don't know why you let them walk all over you! I've seen you stand up for yourself just fine before! But, yet, whenever it comes to them, you cower in the corner like a small child." Katie paused. "Sometimes I don't know what is with you."

Marcus looked away without responding. She had put him in a corner and he had no way to get out. "I don't know."  
Katie eyed him. "What are you afraid of losing?" She put her hand on his thigh.

He was rather thankful whenever the Healer came in to examine her. At least he was out of answering that question for now. Just like everything in life, the answer was rather complicated and sometimes he wondered what he was really doing. Maybe he really did not have a reason.  
A few hours later, Marcus left the hospital. He wanted to stay, but the Order needed him. He would had rather stayed with Katie instead of going there.

He walked into the Burrow and took a seat next to his dad. Brad gave his son a brief glance, but did not say anything. Marcus thought that was for the best.

The meeting began with normal discussion on possible Death Eater movements and possible slayings of Muggles. The normal stuff that Marcus really did not pay attention to. It wasn't that he didn't care; it just wasn't any new news to him. Plus, the Order always seemed to be seeking answers and talking. They never listened to anyone but themselves.

He believed that the Gryffindors should trust the Slytherins. The Dark Side trusted Slytherins and were willing to spill most of its' secrets to them. It did not matter who the Slytherin was, they would spill. Slytherin was a close house, but they also talked. It was something that the Order seemed to fail to notice. People talked. People would had and always would talk. Sometimes rather than taking action, it was sometimes better to listen. He found that worked on the Quidditch pitch and did not see why it would not work here.

Marcus knew that this was why he was the one to be the double agent.

Fifteen minutes later, silence fell upon the group.

"So...The Death Eaters want information on Fairyland," Marcus said, breaking the silence.

Arthur looked at Marcus. "How did they find out about it?"

Marcus shrugged. "I was hoping you could answer that one."

Kingsley and Arthur exchanged looks. "We'll look into it," Kingsley said.

"What did they want to know about Fairyland?" Brad asked.

"They knew where it was built and stored. They knew my family was involved." He paused. "They said that if I gave them information on it, then they would know that I am one of them."

The Order members exchanged looks.

"It's not a lot, but it is enough to matter," Jasmine stated. "No one else knew about the weapon."

"Unless, they still had information on it from the last Dark War," Brad mused.

Jasmine thought about it. "That is highly possible. Someone probably kept whatever they had somewhere."

Marcus stared down at his hands. "Yeah, but what do I tell them?"

"We'll come with something," Kingsley reassured Marcus.

Marcus did not like how there was no answer for him now. He was not sure when the Death Eaters wanted their information and he didn't think they would be very patient about getting it. They were probably tried on waiting for it now.

"I need it now," Marcus said. "Don't tell to wait either."

Kingsley sighed. "Just tell that you don't know anything about it or that we did have the weapon and it turned out to be complete bust. Anything that could be salvaged ended up being to damaged to be any worth to us."

Marcus nodded, but he was unsure of if the Death Eaters would buy it. He somehow doubted it.

**Two Days Later **

A few days later, Marcus found himself being called into yet another Death Eater meeting. He knew what they wanted, but knew that they would not be happy with what they was going to get.

"Marcus," the Dark Lord said as soon as he saw him. "What news do you have for us?"

Marcus stared at the Dark Lord. He was not about to show any fear. It would have to be a sweet curse, even though it was his hell. "They did have a weapon, but nothing could be saved from it. It was too damaged for use."

The Dark Lord leaned forward in his chair. "And how did it get damaged?"

Marcus felt his heart skip a beat. He had no idea what he was supposed to say for this one. He should had known better than to assume that the Dark Lord would be happy with his response. "It got damaged during the last war."

The Dark Lord tapped his fingers as he thought about it. "I suppose that is a possibility." He paused. "We did do some damage to them. However, it is very slim that much damage was done."

Marcus was unsure of what to do.

The Dark Lord stared at Marcus. "I expected a lot better from you, Marcus. Since this is your first time and I am a merciful Lord, you'll punishment will not be as severe."

Marcus tried not to wince.

"Bellatrix will see that it's properly carried out."

From the Dark Lord's right side, Bellatrix was smirking. "I will not let you down, my Lord."

Marcus had been afraid of just that.

At the end of the meeting, Bellatrix seized Marcus and pulled him into a back room. He was relieved that he was not going to be punished in front of everyone.

She smirked at him as she took out her wand. "If you fight me, it will only make it worse on yourself."

Marcus didn't say anything. There was nothing for him to say. He had not planned on fighting her anyway. He was not looking for an excuse for her to kill.

"You stand here," she said. She shoved him roughly against the back wall. "And don't move." She moved in front of him and pointed her wand at his chest. "Well, do you have anything to say?"

He thought of Katie and the curse she had been under. He thought of her beauty and angelic features. If she could make it through months of being under a curse, then surely he could deal with a few minutes of pain.

He looked at Bellatrix. "No." He braced himself for what was coming.

An hour later, Marcus was back home. He stood him front of the bathroom mirror. His chest hurt. He stripped off his shirt and studied his bare chest. There was an ugly bruise right over his heart. The rest of his chest and stomach had minor bruising. Beallatrix had not held back on him.

He really hadn't expected her to.

He pulled on his shirt and went downstairs. The bruising was the least of his worries. What was he going to tell the Order? He was not even sure if the Dark Lord had even bought the story.

He went downstairs and hunted for something to eat. He didn't know where the house elves were and he didn't feel like hunting for them. He would deal with them later. He found some eggs and turned on the stove. A few minutes later the smell of frying eggs filled the kitchen. He didn't know much about cooking but he knew enough to get by.

Marcus heard his front door unlock, but paid no attention to it. His door was protected against _alohamora_ and the only people who get in was the ones who had a key. Not too many people had keys to his house. He did not want one to accidently fall into the hands on a crazy fan girl.

"What are you doing?" a voice said from the kitchen doorway.

"Making eggs. Was does it look like?" He said, not paying attention to the voice or taking his eyes off the pan.

He heard the person walk over to him. "Don't burn the house down."

Marcus looked down into blue eyes. "Why are you here?"

Katie smiled. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."

Marcus put his arms around her. "I didn't know you was getting out."

Katie buried her face into his chest. "I wanted to surprise you."

Marcus tried not wince. He was relieved when she removed her face from his chest a few minutes later.

She smiled at him. "Babe, your eggs are burning," she whispered.

Marcus turned and swore. Sure enough, smoke was rising from the skillet. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and put it out.

Katie was laughing behind him. "This is why we should not let you cook."

Marcus lunged for her and started to tickle her. Her laughter grew louder.

"Stop it!" she laughed.

He tickled her sides, where he knew that she could not stand it. "Say you're sorry."

Katie laughed and wiggled away from him. "Never!" She took off running into the living room.

Marcus turned off the stove and went after her. They wrestled for a few more minutes before calling it quits. They flopped down breathless on the couch.

Marcus put his arms around Katie and kissed her.

Katie leaned into the kiss and deepened it. "I missed you," she whispered into his lips. "Those things I said earlier, I shouldn't have."

"I missed you and you were right." Marcus really hated admitting that last part.

Katie shook her head. "You're not stupid, just trying to do the right thing."


	35. Chapter 35: Sleeping Sun

Chapter Thirty-Five : Sleeping Sun

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie ran her hand along Marcus's cheek. She felt his familiar stubble and a soft patch of hair that he had missed with his razor this morning. She breathed in the gentle smell of his aftershave. She had longed to touch him for six months.

"How do you know?" he asked, his voice low, slipping down past its' normal baritone.

She smiled at him. "I just know," she whispered. She leaned up and kissed him.

She normally did not want to appear as the type of girl who needed her boyfriend by her side at all times. Tonight, she wanted to be that girl. She needed him tonight. She had been alone in that awful world for the last six months. Tonight, she did not want to be alone. When the sun went to sleep, she wanted to be by his side-as princess and prince.

Marcus put his arms around her and ran his hands up and down her body. Goosebumps broke on her skin and chills raced down her spin. Katie had never felt this way before with him. He knew just where to touch her.

She ran her hands over his body as she deepened the kiss. She had been waiting six long months to be near him. She nicked her teeth against his lip, but did not draw blood. She did not want to hurt him, but wanted him to know that she was the one in charge tonight. He backed off and allowed her to take control.

She felt his muscles contract as he moved with her. There were times when she appreciated the fact that he was a professional Quidditch more than others. Tonight was one of those times. The Falcons training schedule had really allowed him to bulk up. He wasn't too bulk though. It made him look more like himself.

Katie shut her eyes. She did not want this moment to end. She just wanted to be her with Marcus. With him here tonight, her world would be complete. She did not need anyone but him right now. Her world was just him and her tonight.

She slid her hands under his shirt and touched his abs. The touch made him jerk away. She had forgotten that his stomach was one of the few places that he was ticklish.

"That was payback for earlier," she said.

"That was evil," Marcus muttered. "Pure evil."

He climbed on top of her and stared down at her. His brown eyes had a mischievous look to them. Katie smiled sweetly at him; she thought that he deserved what he had gotten.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He buried his face in her neck and gently kissing it. It tickled, but she was not about to let him know that. Other than that, it felt wonderful and made her want to purr like a cat. She dug her nails into his back, not enough to hurt him, but enough to let him know that she was the one in the driver's seat. It worked because she felt him draw back a little.

She reached for the buttons on his shirt and began to undo them. Once they were undone, she pulled it back off his shoulders and took in the sharp angles that made him Marcus.

He broke away from her for a moment. "I wouldn't have taken you for the type," he said as he looked down at his bare chest.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked innocently.

"You know what I mean," Marcus muttered.

Katie got on top of him and pinned him to the couch. "There is a lot of things you don't know about me," she whispered as she kissed his lips. "Sometimes I can very, very evil." She paused between each word to kiss him.

Marcus returned each kiss. "I already knew that."

"Baby, you've seen haven't seen nothing yet," she said as she ran her hand over his bare skin and gently slapped his stomach.

Marcus let a small laugh escape his lips. "So, are you telling me that you have a secret side that I don't know about?"

Katie nodded as she studied his chest. There was huge over his heart and a good number of smaller ones dotted the rest of his chest and stomach. It looked like someone had taken a purple and blue marker and had coloured on him. She wondered how she had not seen them earlier.

"Katie?" Marcus asked.

She had been quite for too long. "What happened?" she asked.

"Way to ruin the moment," he said with a smirk.

"Marcus, not now. What happened?" she said forcibility. It was really annoying how he never answered her questions right away.

Marcus tried to sit up, but couldn't. She still had him pinned down. "I suppose saying that I got hit in the chest with a Bludger at practice wouldn't cover it?"  
Katie shook her head. "The bruises are too new." She stared back down at his chest. "Did someone hurt you?"

He looked away and confirmed her suspicion.

"How?"

Marcus did not respond.

Katie reached over to his side and squeezed his hand. "Marcus, answer me."  
He stared at the ceiling now. "It's nothing."

She did not see how it could be nothing. Someone has done this to him.

"You remember how I said I do stupid things," Marcus muttered.

Katie nodded.

"Well, you're seeing one of them."

Katie sighed and looked at the bruises. "You need to put something on them."

Marcus shook his head. "I'll be fine."

Katie knew better than to argue with him. He may not look like a troll or have troll blood in him for that matter, but sometimes his temper said otherwise. It was just better for him to find out the hard way. She was not going to take care of him whenever they got infected. Besides, he should that he needed to put something on them. He was studying to be a mediwizard after all. She just hoped he did better with his patients than he did with himself.

She moved off of him and allowed him to sit up. Marcus slowly redid his shirt without looking at her. She knew that he had no intention on telling her what stupid thing he had done.

The sad news was that their moment was over.

"So, I'm probably going back to school new week," Katie said.

Marcus turned to her. "That soon?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I want to get back in the swing of things as soon as possible. Plus, I've already missed close to seven months of it."

"Keep up, Bell, and your attendance record will look like mine," Marcus said brightly. He had missed a lot of school at Hogwarts due to injury, namely his fifth and seventh year.

"I hope not," Katie replied. "I'd rather not be compared to you."

"And that would be bad thing?"

Katie smirked over at him. "Yes, it would."  
"I'm not that bad," Marcus said defending himself.

"No."

"It's not my fault I got hurt."

Katie gave him a look. "Seventh year, you knew you were sick and you didn't stay off your broom."

Marcus stared ahead. "That was just a minor issue."

"You spent four months in the hospital because of that," Katie said.

"I was going to have to be there anyway." He paused. "And it was three and half months."

"Yeah, had you stayed off your broom, you would have been out of there less than a week and been back at school a few weeks later," she shot back at him.

Marcus did not respond. She knew that he could not win this one.

Katie took his hand into hers. "Just promise me that whatever it is that you have done, that you don't get yourself killed."

"I'll try not to," he said. He reached up a stroked her head. "I would tell you, but it's too risky. The fewer amount of people who know what I am doing, the better it will for all of us."

Katie nodded understanding. "Just don't get yourself killed," she repeated. She could not bear the thought of losing him.

Marcus slowly nodded.

Katie put her hand on his thigh and gave it squeeze. He looked over at her and gave her a small smile. She knew that was going to stay here with him while the sun went to sleep and the moon came out to play.

Katie kissed him again. He seem surprised by her sudden movement. She slide his shirt off again for the second time tonight. She was not about to let anything else get their way tonight. It was their night and she wanted it to be unforgettable.

Marcus run his hand through her hand as they kissed. It always amazed her how gentle his touch was. She just would not expect him to have one.

She slide her hands down to his hips and left them there. She had never been one to get physical with a guy, but six months in a coma was bound to do things to a girl.

She broke the kiss. "Upstairs?" Katie whispered.

Marcus nodded and allowed himself to lead upstairs.

Katie knew that tonight was probably going to be one of the best nights of her life, if not the best one. She smiled as she pinned Marcus down. He was going to find out what Katie Bell was made out of.


	36. Chapter 36: Promise Me Everything

Chapter Thirty-Six: Promise Me Everything

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

A few days later, Marcus leaned against the stadium railing at the pitch. Katie had gone back to school. That night would not leave his mind. It was making him lose his focus at training. No other girl had ever made him feel this way.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you actually going to move!" his trainer, Daniel Young, bellowed up at him. "You are not getting paid to stand around all day and daydream!"

Marcus rolled his eyes and took off running. Daniel enjoyed ordering him around, but Marcus knew that Daniel liked him. They had went to quite a few bars together.

He rounded the corner and ran up the stairs. Sometimes he wondered why they even bothered with practice if all they was going to do was run. He usually did not mind running, but today it was ticking him off.

Marcus watched as his fellow Chaser, Jamie, round the corner in front of him. Marcus was usually faster than Jamie, but since thinking about Katie he was rather slow today.

The Falcons' players came from a wide range of backgrounds. Trent Hastings, twenty-eight, was a large Beater from southern Germany. Kevin Blair, twenty-two, was a medium built Beater from eastern Finland. Jamie Taubenfeld, twenty-one, was a medium built left Chaser from western Canada; he was also dating the Seeker. Carter Collins, twenty-five, was a small right Chaser from South Africa. Sebastian Reynolds, twenty-two, a transfer from a Dutch Quidditch team, played Keeper; this was his first season with the Falcons. Raine Daniels, twenty, was the only female on the team and was Seeker from eastern Russia. She and Marcus had been signed together.

Marcus took off after Jamie. Within a few minutes, the two of them had fallen into pace with each other.

"Thought I lost you," Jamie said.

Marcus shrugged. "I kind of spaced out for a bit."

Jamie nodded. "I am sure that I don't want to know what was running through your mind."

Marcus nods. "It is probably for the best."

Jamie picked up the pace. "You Brits scare me."

Marcus paced the pace with ease. "I'm not really British."

Jamie waved his hand. "Whatever, you was born in Ireland. That's close enough in my book. Plus, you went to school in Britain."

"At least I can speak three languages," Marcus said.

Jamie glared. He hated being the only one on the team who was not bilingual. "At least English is my native language."

Marcus smirked and rolled his eyes. They had this argument at least once a week. It was all in good fun and they really did not mean any of the comments that they said.

Jamie's leg darts out and connects with Marcus's shin. The surprise makes Marcus wince. He does not say anything and increases the pace. Jamie would pay for that; that was a promise. When it came to revenge, Marcus could be very crafty.

Practice ended without any further incidents. Marcus did not get back at Jamie yet. Jamie would have expected something today. Marcus wanted to wait until Jamie's guard was down.

Marcus went home and threw his bag on the bedroom floor. He showered and got redressed. He had to met with Natalia tonight. She had sent him an owl last night requesting a meeting, but he was not sure what is was about.

Natalia flipped through some paperwork that she had "borrowed" from some bloke who had come into her shop. Most of it was boring. She was studying the wanted list. Some of the names she knew, but didn't care about them. One name managed to catch her eye.

"Oh, great," she said under her breath.

Within a second, she heard the bell ring above her shop's door.

Marcus appeared a few minutes later, looking like he would rather be anywhere but here.

"This had better be good," he snapped.

Natalia smirked up at him. "Oh, trust me it is." She started up the stairs and beckoned him to follow.

Marcus stormed up the stairs and followed her into her room. She tucked the paperwork into a giant book and handed them both to him.

"You need to watch your back," she whispered as he took the book.

He eyed her. "Why?"

"Because your name is on the wanted list!"

He just looked at her. "On whose list?"

"The Death Eaters."

Marcus rolled his eyes."That's not surprising."

Natalia sat down next to him. "You already knew?" When he nodded, she slapped him across the face.

"What was that for?" Marcus asked as he rubbed the side of his face.

"FOR NOT TELLING ME THAT YOU KNEW!" Natalia was now on a full blown rampage. "FOR LETTING ME WORRY ABOUT YOU!"

He looked at her. "You were worried about me?"  
Natalia opened and closed her mouth. "Just don't do it again."

Marcus smiled. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises." He shook his his.

Natalia gave him the evil eye. "Don't joke about this." She stood up. "Try to be good."

"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

"Shut up and go away."

Marcus left the shop laughing. It was really fun to get under Natalia's skin. He enjoyed being the one to make her blow. Taking his attention off of Natalia, he looked down at the book and wondered what it could be. With her, it was very hard to tell.

Once outside the shop, his expression turned serious. He had to get out of here. The sooner the better. Everything was so risky right now.

He tucked the book into the outside pocket of his robes. He would take a closer look at it once he got home. The last thing he wanted to be caught with evidence the last place he wanted to be caught with evidence against the Dark Side was Knockturn Alley. There was too many connections to the Death Eaters, hell even Diagon Alley wasn't even safe anymore.

Marcus ducked his head and Apparted to his parents place. The book was not even safe for him to keep at his place. His mum and dad's place had more hiding places than his own.

He strolled into the main floor study. Jasmine was sitting as a writing desk in the corner and looked up as her son entered the room. She flashed him a smile.

"Guardate cosa ha portato il gatto dentro," Jasmine said as she placed a seal on her letter.

"Non è stato così a lungo. Mi hai visto un paio di giorni fa," Marcus said as he sat down in an overstuffed chair.

"Non sei stato a casa per un po. '" Jasmine paused. "Almeno si comea intorno a più di tuoi fratelli."

Marcus's half-brothers really came home. They worked all the time, only Ryan and Shawn lived in Great Britain. The rest of them were scattered around the world. Brad's daughters, Alice, came around even less; she preferred the company of her mother.

He had never realized how much his mother missed having her children around. She really had not had a lot of time for them growing up because she was always doing Auror stuff or Healing. However, she had always showered her children with love, even when she wanted to kill them.

Marcus pulled the book out his pocket. "I need a favour." He handed Jasmine the book.

She studied it for a few minutes and looked up at her son. "Do you know what this is?"

Marcus shook his head. "Do you?"

Jasmine studied it again. "I'm not sure. I've heard about it, but I can't be sure that it is the real thing." She opened the book and read the page.

"Can you hide it for me?"

Without looking up from the page, Jasmine nodded. She pulled the papers that Natalia had stuffed in the front of the book out. She frowned as she read them. "You need to be careful."

Marcus nodded slowly, not really paying attention. He had heard it all before and wondered why they all just did not get together and give it to him at once.

Jasmine put her hands on her son's knees and stared up at him. "Marcus, I mean it." She took her hands off his knees and took his hands into hers. "If it was up to me, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"But it's not up to you," Marcus countered.

Jasmine gave him a small smile. "I know." She patted Marcus's right hand. "You've grown on up on me."

Marcus looked at his mother. She was still rather beautiful, but her age was starting to show a little. There was small wrinkles around her gentle brown eyes and her dark wavy hair had little bits on gray in it. She also had a tried look to her.

Jasmine moved over and sat down next to him. "Promise me something."

Marcus nodded slowly.

"Don't lose yourself along the way," she whispered. "It's a dark place in there. Sometimes yourself is all that you will have."

Marcus nodded. "I promise."

Jasmine dropped his hand. "Well, I've had just about enough of that. Would you like something to eat?" She started toward the kitchen.  
Marcus nodded. He had just realized that his mother had never answered his question about the book. "So, what about the book?"  
Jasmine turned back. "Don't worry about it." She beckoned him. "Now, come on."

Marcus rose slowly. He should have looked at the book when he had the chance. His mother was going to do everything in her power to keep him away from it. He just wanted to know what the book's secrets were.

"Marcus, come on," Jasmine said again. Her voice wasn't snappish yet, but Marcus knew that it was pretty close to it.

Marcus took his eyes off the book and followed his mother. He would find out what was in that book. He would just have to do so when she wasn't around.

**Translations **

**Guardate cosa ha portato il gatto dentro: Look what the cat dragged in. **

**Non è stato così a lungo. Mi hai visto un paio di giorni fa: It's not been that long. I saw you a couple of days ago. **

**Non sei stato a casa per un po: You haven't been home in awhile. **

**Almeno si comea intorno a più di tuoi fratelli: At least you come around more than your brothers. **


	37. Chapter 37: I'm Alive

Chapter Thirty-Seven: I'm Alive

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Katie exited Charms with Lisa, Alex, and Leanne. Things hadn't changed over the months that she had been gone. Alex and Lisa still fought over the simplest things and Leanne tried to keep the peace. Harry had cornered her earlier and asked about the attack; she felt somewhat bad that she had not been able to answer his questions.

"It was accident!" Alex was whining. He had turned Lisa's eyebrows hot pink in class by mistake.

Lisa glared at him and pointed to her eyebrows. "Tell that to my eyebrows!" she snapped.

Alex studied his handy work. "I think pink is a good colour on you."

Lisa kicked his shins. "Pink is an awful colour!"  
Alex winced. "I was trying to be nice." He paused. "Besides, you got to close and you know that Charms is my worse subject."

Lisa stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, that's real mature."

Katie and Leanne exchanged looks. It never ceased to amaze them how much Lisa and Alec could bicker or that they had that much to fight over. Some things just did not make sense in this world.

Lisa hit Alex with her textbooks. "Mature that!"  
Alex ran down the hall and slammed into some scared looking first years. Without saying a word to the first years, he ran into the boys' bathroom.

"That was low," Lisa said. "Do we know any guys who would go in there and beat him up for me?"

Katie and Leanne shook their heads.

Lisa sat down on the floor outside the bathroom. "He's going to have to come out at some point."

"He could climb out the window," Leanne countered.

"We are on the fifth floor. It's highly unlikely." Lisa smiled up at the other two. "Besides, he'll be hungry in a few hours."

Katie and Leanne exchange looks again. Why didn't they just give it a rest already?  
"Are you two going to stay here with me?" Lisa asked innocently.

"Um, I have Potions," Katie and Leanne said together.

Lisa shrugged. "Suit yourselves, but you are going to miss a good time."

Without answering, Katie and Leanne turned and headed toward the dungeons. Katie just hoped that Lisa did not hurt Alex too much. He was one of the few decent boys she could think of.

"I'm surprised that she just didn't open the door and go in," Leanne said as she sat her books down on their table.

Katie nodded. "Probably didn't think about it."

Leanne pulled out her chair and sat down. "That is probably very true."

Katie sat down just as Slughorn walked in. The lesson passed without any incident, unless you counted a Hufflepuff boy setting his robes on fire.

After class, the two girls went back up to check on the Lisa and Alex situation. Neither one was in sight and there was no blood or bodies anywhere; everything must have gone alright. Katie and Leanne made their way back up to the Gryffindor common room. Neither of them was in sight. Katie was beginning to worry. Would Lisa actually hurt Alex? She did not think that Lisa was the type, but being cursed tended to change your view on the world.

Katie sat down in on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Leanne had gone to get her Defence Against the Dark Arts stuff. Exams and school seemed so far away from her right now. She still felt as if she was in her own little world. She had to keep telling herself that she was alive and that nothing could take that away from her now.

Leanne came back down and slammed seven years' worth of Defence notes down on the coffee table. "Do you think that we have to know all of this?"

Katie picked up a piece of paper that was on top. "Greg Lucas is hot." She smiled. "That is probably something that you need to need."

Red faced, Leanne grabbed the note from Katie's hand. "That is not funny!"  
Katie tried not to laugh. When it can to crushes, Leanne got really embarrassed.

Leanne hit Katie with the notes. "It's not funny! Some of us don't have a boyfriend who buys us shiny rings, which we need to talk about!"  
Katie straightened her face. She had hoped that Leanne had forgotten about that. "Should we wait on Lisa?"

Leanne shook her head. "Nope, you can tell us at different times."

Katie tried not groan. She really did not want to talk about this now. "We need to study."

"We need to talk about that ring."

"It's nothing!"  
Leanne smiled. "If it's nothing, then why don't you want to talk about it."

Katie looked down at the ring. "It's just a ring I wanted and he got it for me."

"Katie, guys just don't buy rings for nothing. He wants something," Leanne pressed.

Katie bit her lip. As far she knew, Marcus didn't want anything more than he had already gotten. Besides, he had given her that ring years ago. It was nothing, but a simple Christmas gift. Why was that so hard for people to see? Was it necessary to read that deeply into things?

Leanne leans in close. "He wants something."

Katie rolled her eyes. "We are not going down that road. My love life is none of your concern."

"As the best friend, it is so a concern for me."

Katie pulled her own Defence Against the Dark Arts things out of her bag and opened it to a random page. "We need to study."

Leanne took the book from Katie. "No, we need to talk about that ring."

Katie yanked her book back. "No, it's time to study!"

Leanne threw the book behind the sofa.

Katie raised her eyebrow. "Really?"

Leanne nodded. "Yes, we need to talk."

"I already told you, it's just a gift."

Leanne hugged her knees. "Do you think he will do it?"  
Katie went behind the sofa and got her book. "Do what?"

"Propose."

Katie came back around and sat down. The idea had never occurred to her. She had always thought that she and Marcus would have some kind of future together, but she was not sure about that future. Being married won't be all that strange, but the thought of having a family together was. She really could not picture either of them with children.

Katie just shrugged.

"Would you say yes?" Leanne pressed.

"Probably, why wouldn't I?"

Leanne smiled. "It must be nice knowing this young who you are going to marry."

"It's a strange thing to think about," Katie said staring at the floor. "Marriage, the world. We are leaving Hogwarts forever in a month."

Leanne nodded. "It's so strange." She paused. "But at least we know what we are going to do."

Katie nodded, this was true. Katie was going to the University of Falmouth and train to become a primary professor. Leanne was going to train to be a Herbologist. There was a fair number of their classmates who had no idea what they wanted.

"What's Marcus going to do after he's done with Quidditch?"  
"Mediwizard." Katie hated how people assumed that all Marcus did was play Quidditch.

"He probably already knows a good about it," Leanne mused.

"Yeah. He had to learn a good bit about it for Quidditch training."

Leanne nodded. "Makes sense."

Katie bit her lip. Even though she knew what she was doing after Hogwarts, the thought of leaving scared her. The world was a dark place at this moment. At least at Hogwarts, they were somewhat safe, but out there they were just sitting ducks.

"What are you thinking about?" Leanne asked.

"Have you ever thought about how many people are going to die?"

Leanne nodded. "Yeah, but I try not to let it take over my life. I just keep telling myself that I'm alive for now and I'm going to stay that way."

"So many people are gone each day," Katie sighed. "I can't even read the Daily Prophet because of it. I'm afraid that I will see someone's name I know."

"I know the feeling," Leanne said. "It sucks and there's nothing we can do about it."

"I think that's the worse part," Katie said.

"Yeah, it is. I don't want to lose anyone close to me."

Katie shook her head. "Me neither. The bad thing is, it's going to get a lot worse."

Leanne nodded. "Well, I guess we could attempt to prepare ourselves by studying Defence Against the Dark Arts."  
Katie opened her book. She was just glad that the attention was off her and the ring.

A few days later, Katie woke before anyone else. It was Saturday and she had been hoping to sleep in; her body had other plans. Huffing she got up, dressed, and decided to go for an early morning run around the grounds.

As slightly as possible, she slipped out of Gryffindor Tower and left the castle. The early morning air still had a nip to it, but after a few minutes of running, she hardly noticed it all. She rounded the Green Houses and slammed into something.

Dazed, Katie stepped back. "Sorry."

"Well you should be," Draco Malfoy snapped. He was holding a cage with a small bird inside.

Katie eyed him. She had never liked Malfoy. Most importantly, what was he planning on doing with that bird?

"Now, out of my way, some of us have important things to do." Without another word, he pushed past her.

Katie watched as Malfoy made his way toward the castle and disappeared inside. A part of her wanted to follow him and see where he was going, the more reasonable part of her was telling her to stay away from him.

Sighing she turned her attention away from Malfoy and continued around the greenhouse. Everyone had their secrets. The distance between her side and the Dark Side was growing. To be honest, she was not really sure who she could trust anymore. People changed so fast and so much.

Katie sat down by the lake. She wished that she could remember who cursed her. No matter how hard she tried, she just could not remember. She laid back on the ground and stared up at the blue sky. It was like her memories of that day were gone. Someone wanted her to forget what happened and that person was doing a good job with it.

She closed her eyes. She could remember going in the girls' bathroom and them leaving with the necklace. The next thing she remembered was waking up in St. Mungo's. How she got the necklace or who gave it to her was just a big empty slate.

She reminded deep in thought for a couple more minutes before giving it up as a last cause. This was not her time of dying and she was alive. She had to keep holding on. In this moment, that was all that truly mattered.


	38. Chapter 38: Wish I May

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Wish I May

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

_Italics: Marcus's dream _

Early Saturday evening, Marcus awoke to rapt knocking on his front door. Groaning he rolled out of bed and picked up his wand off the nightstand. This was his one weekend off and whoever was banging on his door, had better have a good reason for doing so. He was not in a people mood this weekend and really wanted to just sleep it away.

He made his way downstairs and opened the door.

"So, feel like going out tonight?" Adrian Pucey asked. "Damon has been hogging you for the last few years."

Marcus blinked. He and Adrian had been good friends in Hogwarts, but had fallen out of communication for a few years. "Um..."

Adrian pushed pass Marcus and flopped down on the sofa. Marcus was not sure how he felt about Adrian making himself at home.

"You need to go out," Adrian said. " Cassius heard crazy rumours about you. He claims that he heard that you weren't partying anymore and had taken the straight path. Then, he said you've been showing up at Death Eater meetings."

Marcus just stared out the window.

"I said that there was no way you've stopped partying," Adrian continued. "You party all the time."

Marcus still did not respond.

"The only thing that has changed is that you're a little older now, but you're still only twenty."

Marcus looked over at the other boy. "Why are you here?"

Adrian looked at Marcus. "To see you."

"We haven't spoken in years and now you've decided to show up." Marcus figured his wand.

Adrian smiled. "It's very simple. You're one of us now."

Marcus closed his eyes. He knew he was not getting out of this one. "Give me a couple of minutes to change."

Adrian nodded and flipped on the television. "I'll be waiting."

Marcus was afraid of that one. He climbed the stairs and went into his room. He did not change right away. If he was going out unexpected with a group of Death Eaters, he wanted someone to know where he was. He picked up his mobile and sent a text to his dad. He took his time dressing and did not go back downstairs until Brad had answered.

As soon as Marcus stepped off the last step, Adrian's head darted up. "Are you ready?"

Marcus nodded. "Let's do this."

Adrian lead the way out.

Marcus was not sure what bar they ended up at; after awhile, they all looked the same. Most of his old teammates were there and were already on the road to having too much to drink. He and Adrian squeezed into a booth with the rest of the guys.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Graham Montague said. He raised his glass and toasted Marcus. "Marcus Flint in the flesh."

Marcus didn't say anything and poured himself a drink.

From across the table, Cassius eyed him. "Heard you'd gone soft on us."

Marcus glared. He had to remember to act like he did in Hogwarts; he could not let this group find out he'd changed. "And what idiot told you that?" he snapped.

Cassius took a drink. "Shawn Bole said you'd been running around with your parents' people."

Marcus shrugged. "Parents dragged me."

"I thought you were free of your parents."

Marcus took a long drink and slowly put his glass down. "If I want my inheritance, I have to have some communication with them." Which was partly true.

Cassius nodded. "I guess that's plausible."

"Anyway, since Marcus is back in the group," Adrian said changing the subject, "maybe we can score some free tickets."  
The group turned to Marcus.

Marcus was not really sure what to say. He still found it strange to think of himself as a professional Quidditch. "We'll see."

Shawn Bole slide into the booth next to Marcus. "See about what?"  
Cassius eyes Shawn. "You liar."

Shawn reached across Marcus and grabbed the pitcher. "What?" he asked as he poured himself a drink.

"Marcus hasn't changed."

Shawn looked over at Marcus. "Just going off of what I heard, mate."

Marcus studied his glass with faked interest. "You should know by now that you shouldn't believe everything you read in the papers."

"You were the one who disappeared off the face of the Earth," Shawn accused.

"No, I didn't-" Marcus started in.

` "Yeah, you kind of did," Graham cut in. "What was up with that?"

Marcus took a drink; so much for staying sober tonight. "That is none of your concern."

"We all drifted apart. Chris is working for the Ministry and Terrance is in Italy," Adrian said. "It was just a freak thing. The important thing is that one of us came back to the folds."

Graham, Cassius , and Shawn drank to that.

"We left the land of shiny lights and all came back to become friends once again," Adrian continued. "The land of shiny lights is where we belong."

Marcus wondered how early Adrian had started drinking tonight or if he had even stopped drinking at all this weekend. "Shiny lights?"

Adrian shrugged. "It's the best I could come up with in the moment. You guys set it up so that someone had to say something."

Marcus just smirked. Sometimes it was better not to ask when it came to Adrian.

"So, how's everyone's love life?" Shawn asked.

Marcus always hated whenever this came up; it usually meant that Shawn was having relationship problems with whoever he was seeing.

An hour later, Marcus found himself stumbling into the men's room. Whatever had been in that last drink was making his throat and stomach burn. He was normally good at holding his liquor, but that last drink was pure evil. He gripped the sides of the sink and stared into the mirror. He looked wrecked. His face was pale and flushed; his eyes were unfocused. He was going to pay for this tomorrow. He splashed some cool water onto to his face and exited the room.

When he got back to the table, the others were still telling drunken stories. It was like they had never left Hogwarts and lived to party.

"You're back," Adrian said, his words were thrown into one.

Marcus nodded and took a drink of water. He was done with alcohol tonight. "What did you expect?"

"You to pass out on the floor," Adrian mused.

Graham shook his head. "Nah, Marcus has got more class than that. He would just wait to get home and then pass out."

Marcus did not respond to any of this. Graham's idea did sound like a pretty good one.

"I could probably do that," Shawn said.

Cassius nodded in agreement.

They paid their tab and left the bar. Once they were outside, they went their own ways.

Marcus arrived at home and laid down on his bed without undressing. His head was already pounding. He was going to have an awful hangover in the morning. He put his arm over his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him.

His sleep was not easy. His dreams were not peaceful and were in fact nightmares. It was rather strange, he hardly ever had nightmares.

_ Marcus felt pain rush through his body. No, this wasn't supposed to happen! Where did the bright and warm light go? Where was the light that would lead him from this world? He wanted it to come back. He didn't want to return to the pain, to the nightmare. _

_ No, he had to fight. He had to get out of this nightmare. Someone needed to wake him. He needed to get off of the ground. He needed to get off the ground. _

_ It wasn't his time. _

_ He was too young. _

_ No, he had to go back. _

_ Fight, fight. _

_ It wasn't his time to die. _

_ "We've got him," a faraway voice exclaimed. _

_ He felt someone touch his head. "Welcome back, kiddo." _

Marcus woke up gasping and glanced over at his clock. It was little after four in the morning. He really needed to stop drinking so late; when he was drunk, his dreams always made him wake up panicking. Just to be on the safe side, he lifted up his shirt and peered at his side. There was no marks on his skin that indicated that he had just died and been brought back to life. All was well, for now at least.

He dropped his shirt and rolled back over, hoping that sleep would overtake him.

The next morning Marcus woke up with a mean hangover. His head was pounding and he could not see straight. He stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom where he took a hot shower. After that, he changed into sweatpants and a plain T-shirt and flopped back down onto his bed. He was so out of it that he did not even hear his dad come into the room.

"You look awful," Brad commented as he sat down on the corner of the bed.

Marcus eyed his dad. "I look better than I feel."

"That must be pretty bad." Brad eyes his son. "You do know that you didn't have to get wasted."

Marcus tried not to groan. "I didn't drink that much. Whatever was in that last drink was a killer."

Brad just smirked and rolled his eyes. "So, they're going to fire to Fairyland."

"When?"

"This afternoon and they want you there."

Marcus groaned. "Do you guys want to kill me?"

Brad patted Marcus's leg. "Nah, but it is fun to torture you." He stood. "Now get up and get dressed."


End file.
